Harry Potter and the Beasts of the Shadow
by Nataly Ravenlock
Summary: {Complete} Voldemort is getting stronger and beginning to attact Hogwarts with creatures that only he can control. Harry's 6th year, dragons, Demons, a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who's more than she seems, Snape being civil. READ!!!!!
1. The Forbidden Forest

D/C: All the stuff you recognize out the HP books is J.K. Rowling's. Anything you don't recognize is most likely mine.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
The Forbidden Forest  
  
It was an ordinary night, if you could call any night in the wizarding world ordinary. The sky was its usual color of blue black and speckled with stars and shining planets. The only creatures that noticed the stars on a regular basis are the centaurs, for they are great astronomers and astrologers, or in Hagrid's words 'Ruddy stargazers.'  
  
Firenze stood in a small clearing in the Forbidden Forest, gazing up at the stars, figuring out their secret meanings. There was Jupiter, beautiful as always though nothing much would affect him from that position in the sky. And Cancer was rising in the east. That wasn't anything major either. Now Mars, on the other hand, Mars was unusually bright. Again.  
  
Almost five years ago, Firenze remembered Mars being the exact same way. It had been a time of danger. You-Know-Who had appeared at Hogwarts in the form of Professor Quirrell, and had been defeated by the young Harry Potter and his friends. This obviously meant that something bad was going to happen and people had to be warned.  
  
But who? He couldn't go and tell Dumbledore. He would be too conspicuous. It was quite hard for a centaur to walk into the school and ask to see the Head Master without questions being asked. He would have to tell Hagrid. Hagrid would tell the Professor and everything would be fine. Just fine. Firenze turned his thoughts back to earth. He would go now, before his thoughts caught up with him and turned back to the stars.  
  
Firenze listened to the quiet, cold night breeze. Yes, he had heard something. He turned toward the direction of where it was and peered cautiously into the dark shadows. Nothing. It was just his imagination. He walked onward alone towards Hagrid's hut.  
  
The black shadow grinned menacingly as Firenze passed it unknowingly. Prey, it thought to itself. Prey that knows too much about what his Master was doing. The black shadow knew what the centaur had been thinking. It knew that Firenze had made the connection with the event that had happened only a handful of years ago. Cursed Stargazers! Why do the heavens have to know so much? The shadow let out an ear splitting howl that made every creature within the Forbidden Forest shake with fear even though they did not know what it was. The shadow began to stalk his chosen prey.  
  
Firenze glanced behind him. Nothing, he told himself. Nothing was there. There were no other prints besides the ones made by his hooves. But the Howl! It was closer than he would have liked it to be. He hoped it was nothing at all. Maybe a wolf that lived near by and felt the need to disturb the Forest's peace. Yes a wolf. That was it. A wolf. Firenze steeled himself and continued on.  
  
The shadow stayed a few paces behind. Far enough away to remain undetected yet close enough to keep in striking distance with his prey. The centaur unknowingly had chosen a path that went through a densely packed area of tall, thick trees. The black shadow knew a chance when it saw one. This would be the only chance it would have to get the centaur before its idea could be told to someone who could ruin its Master's plan. It ran a few paces forward to get in front of the centaur and leapt.  
  
Firenze never saw the shadow come at him, but by instinct turned only slightly. This saved his life, for the creature had been aiming at his throat and hit only his heavily muscled chest. With all his strength, Firenze grabbed the creature, trying to pull it off. It claws had already sunk into his flesh searching for his heart. They wrestled. The shadow hoping to kill the centaur; the centaur hoping only to live. Firenze could feel the claws ripping through skin and muscle and sinew. He didn't have much of a chance to win the battle, but he wouldn't die without a fight. A scream of pain and suffering escaped his throat. The last thing that Firenze heard as he drifted into the blackness of deep sleep, or maybe death, was the twang of a crossbow and the slight "whump" of the creature falling off him into the no longer pristine snow.  
  
  
  
{Author's Note: I know this is a short chapter, but more is one the way. I needed an intro of some sort and this is how it is going to be started. R & R please. I want opinions on my writing. This is the first time I'm letting people other than my close friends read what I write. I don't care if I get flamed or slashed or whatever. I just want ideas on how to improve. Thanks- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	2. Hogwarts Christmas Break

D/C: And I say it again. What you do recognize is J.K. Rowling's. What you don't is mine.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Hogwarts Christmas Break  
  
Harry Potter awoke with a start. A painful scream had cut through the thick walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He listened to hear if it was any of the other boy in his dormitory. No. They were all sound asleep and quiet, save for the occasional snore or incoherent mutter. It had to be something outside. He groped around for his glasses and put them on. There, now was everything was clearly in focus. He pulled back the curtains from around his four post bed. Still nothing. Harry looked out the window on to the Forbidden Forest. Nothing unusual seemed to be amiss. The snow outside was still pristine and untouched by any footprints. There was nothing that would lead to the scream. Maybe he was dreaming. Oh, well. Harry took off his glasses and went back to sleep. He'd ask Ron and Hermione about it in the morning.  
  
The sun woke Harry a few hours later. He had forgotten to close the bed curtains after the scream. He got up again to look out the window. There were no marks of any kind on the snow. There were signs that anything had happened at all. Strange, he thought to himself. He knew he had heard something.  
  
Ron mumbled in his sleep and woke up. He saw Harry looking out the window. "Harry, close the drapes. We don't need to get up yet. We have the day off, remember?"  
  
"I know. I thought I heard something last night and wanted to see if there were any signs of it outside."  
  
"You're imagining things. I didn't hear anything last night."  
  
"Ron, you wouldn't wake up if there was a herd of trolls around your bed plotting how to eat you."  
  
Ron shrugged and gave Harry the what-can-I-say look. His stomach rumbled softly. Harry looked his friend with an estranged look.  
  
"You're hungry already? After what you ate last night? I thought that would last you for days, at least!"  
  
"I'm a growing boy. I need my food. Let's go to breakfast."  
  
Ron and Harry quickly pulled on their robes and went to breakfast. Hermione was already down there by the time the two boys arrived. She waved Ron and Harry over even though she already knew that they would sit together like they always did. Ron and Harry sat down.  
  
"Did you hear it?" she asked them excitedly.  
  
"Hear what?" Ron asked as he dished up some eggs and sausages.  
  
"The scream!" Hermione explained it as if everyone one should have heard it.  
  
"No," Ron answered.  
  
"Yes," Harry said simultaneously.  
  
"So I'm not dreaming. There was something out there last night that got attacked."  
  
"What makes you say something was attacked?" Harry asked.  
  
"I don't know it just seemed that way to me. How else would you explain it?"  
  
"I don't know. It definitely sounded in pain. Do you know if anyone else heard it?"  
  
"Yes. I heard a few of the professors talking about something in the Forbidden Forest, but I didn't hear much else."  
  
"Did someone say Forbidden Forest?" Fred asked. Both twins had perked up at the idea of something 'forbidden.'  
  
Hermione looked at Ron and Harry. All three of them knew that Fred and George would find out eventually what had happened and then find away to put it the form of some gag and prank. She sighed. "Yes, I did. Last night I heard a scream coming from outside. This morning, I heard some of the professors talking about something being attacked in the Forbidden Forest. I guess that what ever was attacked was the thing that screamed. Hopefully, it wasn't anything you two did."  
  
"Us?" George exclaimed. "Why would we do something like that?" Both twins tried to make an angelic face, but they only succeeded in looking quite guilty at doing something. Maybe they were just too far away from being perfect angels.  
  
"Other than the fact it would have been fun to scare the first years with," Fred added thoughtfully.  
  
"And the professors, too," George decided.  
  
"But, for once, it wasn't us," Fred stated.  
  
"Wow. That must be a first," Ron said sarcastically.  
  
The conversation was distracted by a flock of owls delivering the post. A ruffled brown owl dropped a note in front of Harry. He opened it and read:  
  
Harry,  
  
Would you, Ron, and Hermione like come to my house this afternoon for tea? Send the answer back with my owl.  
  
Hagrid  
  
"Well? Who's it from?" Ron asked.  
  
"Hagrid. He wants you, me, and Hermione to come for tea this afternoon. Do you want to?" Harry looked at Ron and Hermione.  
  
Both said "Sure" since there was nothing else to do except for homework this afternoon. Harry wrote a quick yes on the parchment and gave it back to the owl. He watched it fly away.  
  
Dumbledore stood up at the teacher's table. "Attention! Attention!" The room went silent. "I would like to announce that our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will arrive in the next few days. She will be teaching for the rest of the year and hopefully stay for a few years after that." Dumbledore then sat down and resumed eating. Conversation immediately started up at where it had left off.  
  
"Well, that's definitely good news!" Ron was grinning happily.  
  
Professor Snape had been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions since school had started in September. It made things worse for anyone that Snape did not like, which was mainly anyone not in the Slytherin house, since he had been teaching both Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Hermione asked. "Our new teacher will be a woman. I wonder how different that will make the class." She stood up, looking thoughtful. "I'm going to the library to work on the Transfiguration essay. Anyone want to come with me?"  
  
Ron and Harry shared a look. Hermione and the library were inseparable, even during vacations. But they both still had to do the Transfiguration essay and Hermione might be of some assistance, given her usual brain power, so Ron and Harry followed her out.  
  
The library was mostly deserted. The essay was on the Animagus. The assignment was to explain what an Animagus is, how a person can become one, what are the dangers of becoming one, and what happens to those who mess up the spell. For extra credit, the students could also pick an animal that they wished to become, explain why, and describe the animal down to the last hair, feather, scale, et cetera along with its habitat, main source of food, predators, and how many are there still alive in the world. Professor McGonagall also specified that the essay be two feet in length.  
  
To Hermione, the essay was fun to do and the words came easily to her quill. For Harry and Ron, on the other hand, it was one of those things that they would much rather be doing something else. All three of them did manage to finish their essays, although Hermione had to help the other two to stop procrastinating. Harry looked at a near by clock. Mid afternoon, perfect timing. He stretched and heard his back pop a few times before he stood up.  
  
"Ready to go to Hagrid's?"  
  
Hermione and Ron stood up and gathered their books. After bringing them back to their rooms, they set out to Hagrid's hut.  
  
The outside was an almost picture perfect day. The sky was blue, the sun shone bright as any midsummer's day. The snow on the ground was crisp clean with no foot prints, save for the ones that they were making. Hagrid's cabin soon came into view and Harry knocked at the door.  
  
Hagrid answered, wearing a humongous white chef's hat and a flowered apron. The smell of something cooking came from inside.  
  
"'Arry! Ron! Hermione! Yer jus' in time to try some o' me fresh fudge cake!" Hagrid, exuberant as ever, ushered them inside. The inside of the cabin was as messy as ever. The trio noticed three things first. One, a heavily bandaged centaur was sitting at the table, savoring a cup of tea. Two, an obviously dead black creature with a crossbow bolt sticking out of it was locked in a cage on the other side of the room. Three, Hagrid's cake was on fire.  
  
"Hagrid! The cake! It's on fire!" Hermione shouted.  
  
Hagrid took the nearest bucket of water and threw it on the flames. The fire went out in a puff of steam that filled the entire small house. It took more than a few seconds to dissipate. When the steam finally cleared, it seemed that everything was just fine, save that Hagrid's cake was, well to be blunt, rather soggy. He looked at the tray he held in his oven-mitted hand. It dripped slowly in to a puddle on the floor.  
  
"Ah, well," Hagrid decided dejectedly. "Tis only th' firs' one." He set it one the table and watched it flop to one side.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione each sat down around the table. Hagrid set out some mismatched tea cups and poured tea. "You remember Firenze Centaur, don'tcha?"  
  
Harry thought for a moment. "Yes. I think so. Wasn't it during our first year, when we had detention, and went into the Forbidden Forest to look for the unicorns and what was killing them, that we met the centaurs and one of them was Firenze?"  
  
Hagrid nodded. "Las' nigh' something attacked 'im. Tha' thing." He pointed to the cage with the dead creature in it.  
  
"The scream that we heard! That was him!" Hermione connected what Hagrid was saying first.  
  
Hagrid nodded again, sadly. "Yes, 'twas 'im. 'E wanted ta talk wi'h you three."  
  
The centaur spoke up. His voice was rougher than Harry or any of the others remembered it to be and filled with pain and suffering. "Mars was unusually bright last night." He paused and grimaced. "The last time that Mars was unusually bright was almost six years ago, when You-Know-Who was here, at Hogwarts. I fear that he is coming, Harry. I thought that you'd want to know. I think that He'll be here sooner than you think. Be careful. All three of you, be careful. He wants to kill you, Harry. You must be ready for him." Firenze took a sip of the tea. "Good luck. You will need it." His head dropped forward to his bandaged chest and Firenze Centaur went to sleep.  
  
Ron, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other, at Hagrid, at the sleeping centaur, and at the creature in the cage with their mouths agape.  
  
"Does Professor Dumbledore know about this?" Hermione squeaked as soon as she regained her voice.  
  
"Of course 'e does!" Hagrid pounded his fist on the table to emphasize his loyalty to Dumbledore. "You'd think Ah wouldn't tell 'im abou' something like this?"  
  
"No, of course not, but…" Hermione trailed off. All three of them remembered the dragon that Hagrid had tried to hatch and raise in his tiny cabin, while keeping it a secret from everyone save the three of them.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore decided tha' this would be th' safest place ta keep it withou' all th' students being able to find it. The only ones tha' come ta visit me are you three and you three are th' ones tha' need ta see it. Where else would be a better place to keep from bein' seen?"  
  
The three nodded in agreement. Anything that happened in the school and was tried to be kept a secret would undoubtedly be found out and known by the entire school within a day. Therefore the safest place to keep something that was not to be found would be in a place where people would never look for a secret to be kept in.  
  
"'Tis time you be leavin' meh. Ah have work ta do," Hagrid ushered them out of his cabin as they thanked him for the tea.  
  
{Author's Note: I am apologizing now for butchering Hagrid's accent, but at least I tried to do an accent. If anyone has any hints at how to Hagrid speak, please let me know. This chapter is slightly longer and the next one will be one its way soon. R & R please. I want opinions! Flame me if you must, its part of life. Thanks- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	3. Dreams

{Disclaimer: What you recognize is obviously belong to the great J.K. Rowling. What ever you don't recognize is most probably belonging to humble me.}  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Dreams  
  
The house was quiet save for the crackling logs in the fire and maybe a whisper from down the hall. Harry walked toward the sounds of chatter and found himself in a dark basement. The walls were built out of cement blocks and wet with unpatched leaks. Piles of overflowing boxes were stacked around the room like a barricading fence. A figure stood in the center of the room with his back towards Harry and his arms rose towards the heavens above. Harry snuck behind the boxes and crept along until he could see the face of who it was. It was a useless attempt, of course, for the figure was cloaked and hooded. The face was hidden beneath shadows cast from the single bulb hanging from the ceiling. The arms rose again with the wand in hand. A huge caldron stood in front of the wizard, boiling a furious green. Harry heard the wizard whisper a few words and flick his wand as if casting a spell. From the cauldron rose a cloud of dark smoke. It hung in the air near the wizard as it began to solidify. The head came first. It reminded Harry of a wild wolf with the teeth of a dragon and horns of death. The body was scaled with tufts of coarse fur at the elbows and knees. The tail was like a dragon's tail, long and spiked. The entire thing seemed to swallow the light around it. Harry could only describe it as something black, something evil.  
  
"Yes, my pet," the wizard whispered softly as his hand went out to stroke the creature's rough head. "You shall do for now. There will be bigger ones, stronger ones after you, but for now you shall serve your purpose." He paused for a moment resting his hand upon the great head. "Go out and find Harry Potter, my pet. Find him and destroy him."  
  
The creature seemed to nod in understanding. It scented the air around it. It turned until it faced the crate which Harry was hiding behind and advanced towards him. Harry gulped and pressed himself against the damp cardboard. The creature came nearer. He could here its loud breathing on the other side. Harry knew he couldn't stay here for long. He regained his footing and ran out of the house into the wet snow.  
  
Harry was running, running faster than he had ever run before. His legs pounded into the snowy ground, finding firm purchase where some might have slipped. He glanced behind him. The black shadow, so like a wolf, but not, was gaining on him. Faster, he pushed himself forward. He could feel his lungs burning with unseen fire from the lack of oxygen. He turned again and as he turned he fell into the snow, foot caught on an outstretched root. The black wolf shadow loomed over him, pinning him to the ground. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth playfully, like a dog that was going to play fetch. It teeth glistened in the moonlight, reminding Harry of dragon fangs. Saliva dripped from it mouth on to the ground and Harry could hear the sizzle of the dissolving tree below him. There was nothing he could do. His arms were pinned to his sides and it seemed as though his wand was nowhere near. As the wolf creature bent forward to sink its powerful jaws into his throat, Harry heard to echoes of a terrible, evil laughter that could only come form one person. Lord Voldemort.  
  
"I will kill you, Harry Potter," the whispering voice promised him. "This year, I shall kill you, just like I murdered you parents. You will die! YOU WILL DIE!!!!!!"  
  
Harry awoke bathed in sweat and breathing heavily, like he usually did after such a dream. He could feel his scar pulsing in sharp pain on his forehead, like a bad head ache that would never go away. He lay back down and tried to sleep.  
  
The image of the wolf creature stayed in his mind. The black fur that hung raggedly off it jaw, the teeth sharp as daggers, the dripping saliva corrosive as acid, all the horrible images that wouldn't let him rest, that wouldn't go away. Harry knew he could never get back to sleep with images like this plaguing him. He sat up and found his glasses. Creeping quietly out of bed, he pulled out his Invisibility Cloak from its place in his trunk. He pulled it on and snuck out of the Gryffindor rooms.  
  
Harry had no idea where he was going. He knew that no one could see him (or at least hoped that they couldn't), and therefore he could have the halls to himself. He should most definitely tell Professor Dumbledore about the nightmare. The professor would probably know what to do about it. Harry couldn't tell Dumbledore now. It was a little after one in the morning. It was probably not the best time to bother him now. The nightmare could be told about in the morning. Harry was certain that he would remember the dream. It had been on of those things that were unforgettable until you just forgot to think about it. Harry found himself wandering through random corridors and hallways, some that he was familiar with, some that he was positive that he had never seen before. He thought that he might have ended up in the dungeons at some point or maybe he passed the owlry a few minutes back.  
  
"Ah, Mrs. Norris, I hear footsteps. Maybe it's a student out of bed. A first year who couldn't sleep and misses his mommy," Argus Filch chuckled to himself. If there one thing that he enjoyed, it was getting students in trouble.  
  
Harry hadn't thought about his footsteps being heard. So the Invisibility Cloak was not omnipotent. You couldn't be seen but you could be heard. Harry filed that away in his mind for further use. He looked around him. There were no statues nearby to hide behind. Until after he left, it wouldn't be safe to be out the hall with Filch so close even if Harry had an Invisibility Cloak on. There was his chance! Harry spotted a slightly open door. He moved closer, inching against the wall. Perfect, he thought to himself, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It would be deserted, which would make it a perfect hiding place. Harry slowly opened the door and snuck inside.  
  
He leaned against the cold stone wall taking a few deep breaths. He peered out the doorway and watched Filch walk down the hall followed by Mrs. Norris. He breathed a sigh of relief and let himself relax. Something brushed against his legs. Harry gasped in surprised. He looked down and could barely make out the outline of a cat with glowing green eyes. It was definitely not Mrs. Norris. It was too big to be her.  
  
"Nice kitty," he whispered to it. "Be a good kitty and let me leave."  
  
The cat, being a perfectly normal cat, squeaked loudly at him. Harry reached down to pet it and after a few strokes, it began to purr rather like an eighteen wheeler. He looked around the classroom just to make sure that no one was there and able to hear the loud cat. As far as he could see, no one was there. He stood up again with one last pat on the cat's head and made for the door.  
  
"Leaving so soon, Mr. Potter?" a voice called out to him from the shadows of the seemingly empty room.  
  
Harry froze. Not literally, but he could have. He had thought the room deserted and yet he heard something speak to him. He searched the darkness for any clue of the voice's existence. Nothing showed itself.  
  
"Who's there?" he managed to say, though there was a slight waiver in his voice. His hand reached down to grasp the wand in his pocket.  
  
"Don't worry about the wand, Mr. Potter. I do not plan on harming you. It just isn't every day that I get a midnight visitor. Oh, don't worry about your Invisibility Cloak. I can see through it. I specially placed defenses on the doorway to prevent visits by things I cannot see."  
  
"Who are you?" Harry still looked around the classroom in hope of finding some one or thing.  
  
"I," there was a dramatic pause. "Am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."  
  
  
  
{Author's Note: This could have been a longer chapter but it seemed so much more fun to make it a cliffhanger. It just wouldn't be as much fun getting to the high point of the chapter and just going on from there with out any emphasis on points that need it. I'm not saying that this specific point needed emphasis but it needed something. Please R&R. I need all the help I can get. Thanks- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	4. The Voice in the Dark

{Disclaimer: You know the drill. What belongs to J.K. Rowling is her property. What doesn't is most likely mine (Professor Harpsturn and Bean the cat). I apologize now for anything that I do wrong, so don't sue me. I have no money anyway.}  
  
Chapter 4  
  
The Voice in the Dark  
  
A candle was lit in the front of the class room. A few more appeared and floated to the corners of the room. The fireplace to Harry's left sparked into a merry blaze. He could see a person seated at the professor's desk, face invisible in the shadows, reclined in the chair with the feet on the desktop. The person held its wand in its left hand tapping it on the palm of it right hand.  
  
"You can take off your cloak, Mr. Potter. I can see you just as well in here with or without it."  
  
Harry flipped down the hood but left the cloak on.  
  
"Have a seat, Mr. Potter." The hand not holding the wand gestured to a chair sitting in front of the desk.  
  
Harry hesitated. He could run now or he could stay and meet the new professor. No matter what he did, the professor already knew who he was and could report him either way. He was rather curious about the new professor, but…  
  
"Mr. Potter, I told you to have a seat." It seemed as if he had no choice. Harry slowly walked to the front of the classroom dreading what the professor would do to him. Sure, he had yet to formally meet him or her, but all teachers must know about the rule not allowing students to wander at night. He would probably get detention.  
  
The professor took his or her feet off the desk and leaned forward into the light. "So, Mr. Potter, what brings you to the Dark Arts classroom at this unghastly hour?"  
  
Harry was surprised at the appearance of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She was young, maybe in her late twenties/ early thirties, with short blond hair that fell loosely to her shoulders. Her eyes were hazel and shone with intelligence underneath a pair of wire rimmed oval glasses. She was a lot different from all the rest of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors that Harry had experienced. She seemed more personable and less strange, he decided. He hadn't liked most of his Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers except for Professor Lupin. Professor Quirrell had been involved with the Dark Lord. Professor Gilderoy Lockheart knew only about being famous. Professor Moody would have probably been a good teacher, except for the fact that it was actually Mr. Crouch's son who was an Azkaban escapee pretending to be Professor Moody with the help of a Polyjuice potion. Her voice was actually understandable, unlike last year's Professor Slaskovic who had so thick an accent that it had been almost impossible to comprehend. The only reason that he wasn't teaching this year was that Durmstrang had lost its Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to an unfortunate accident and wanted Professor Slaskovic back.  
  
"Well…um…" Harry wasn't sure if he could tell her.  
  
"You know what? We really got off to a bad start didn't we?" She looked at Harry as she stood up. "Would you like some tea or hot chocolate or anything? I know this is probably rather early, but you must have had a good reason for being up in the middle of the night when you should have been sleeping and you probably won't get back to sleep anyway. So would you like anything?"  
  
Harry looked at her with a confused expression. He decided it would be best to voice his question now. "Aren't you going to give me detention or something?"  
  
She gave him a look of surprise as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Why should I give you detention? Do you want detention? If you really want detention, I probably could give it to you."  
  
"No, I don't want detention. It's just that any other professor would have given me detention for finding me wandering the halls at this time of night."  
  
"True." The professor thought about that for a few seconds. "Theoretically, I'm not a professor until classes start after the break is over." The professor flicked her wand and a tea set appeared on the desk. She sat down and poured herself a mug full of tea. "Would you like some?"  
  
"Yes, please." The professor poured Harry a mug of tea. He took a welcome sip.  
  
"Let's try this again. I'm Professor Harpsturn." She stuck out her hand and Harry shook it.  
  
"Harry Potter," he said.  
  
"Right. Remus told me all about you. Now that we're set with identities, what brought you to my classroom?"  
  
It took a moment for what see had said to sink in. "Wait a second! Remus? As in Professor Remus Lupin?"  
  
"Yes. Remus, as in your Professor Lupin."  
  
"You know Professor Lupin?"  
  
"Mr. Potter, of course I know Professor Lupin. He's my older brother. He's the entire reason why I was hired here. Remus was the one that suggested to Dumbledore to ask me to teach."  
  
"Oh." Harry took another sip of his tea, trying to digest what he just had heard. This lady, Professor Harpsturn, was the sister of Professor Lupin, the only Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that he had liked. The professor who was also a werewolf.  
  
"You're not a…"  
  
"Werewolf like my brother? No. Don't worry about that. The only way I could be one would be if I was bitten or one of my parents was one. Neither is the case. Remus was bitten when he was a child. That's why he's one."  
  
"Oh. Okay."  
  
"You still haven't answered my question, Mr. Potter. What business do you have in my classroom?"  
  
"Filch was coming down the hall and there were no places to hide behind save for in here, which I thought would be deserted."  
  
"Midnight walk, eh? Couldn't sleep? Or a nightmare?"  
  
Harry still didn't know whether or not to trust her. "I couldn't sleep. Too many things to think about that were worrying me."  
  
"Another one of those? I'd tell Dumbledore in the morning if I were you. You were right not to wake him up. He needs his sleep."  
  
Harry stared at the Professor dumbfounded. "How do you know about my dreams?"  
  
The professor squirmed slightly in her chair and sighed. "I guess I probably should tell you now. Being a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was not the only thing I was hired for, Harry. I am also a Dreamer. I can see people's dreams if they get as close as you are now. That's how I know yours. You see, Harry, you have the same talent. You get extremely vivid dreams that are forecast of the future or remnants of the past. That's what a Dreamer is. We see dreams in the past, present, or future that are usually true or have the chance of being true if nothing is done to prevent them."  
  
Harry looked at Professor Harpsturn. He could see from her expression that she was being completely serious. "You mean that the dreams that I get are actually ways of telling the future? Like divination?"  
  
"Yes, exactly, but I wouldn't tell Professor Trelawny. If she's how she was when I knew her, it wouldn't be a good idea. Is she just as misty seeming and more than slightly off her rocker?"  
  
"I think so. She's predicted that I was going to die for the past three years."  
  
"You're still alive. I definitely wouldn't tell her, then. Sybill does know her field, but past that she's a lousy Seer. I don't mean to speak badly of my peers, but seeing is definitely not her strong point. Don't tell anyone, Harry, about your gift."  
  
"I won't"  
  
"If you want, I can teach you more about what being a Dreamer means."  
  
"Sure, I guess."  
  
"It will help with your nightmares, lessen the sting of them so that you can sleep and not be up half the night."  
  
Harry looked grateful. He would have liked to sleep. "I think I would like that."  
  
"Are you free tomorrow? Around 2 o'clock? You have the rest of the week off, right?"  
  
"Yes. 2 o'clock should be fine. I don't have any plans."  
  
"Oh, and if your friends want to come, they can come too."  
  
Harry grinned. He had been wondering what to say to Ron and Hermione. "Thanks, Professor."  
  
"You're quite welcome, Harry Potter. Now put the cloak back on and go get some sleep." Professor Harpsturn looked at her watch. "I shall see you later today."  
  
Harry stood up and started to leave. "Professor?"  
  
"Yes, Mr. Potter?"  
  
"May I ask you a question?"  
  
"Certainly."  
  
"How come your last name isn't Lupin?"  
  
"You noticed that I don't have a wedding ring didn't you? The main reason is that it would be too confusing. Dumbledore would announce that Professor Lupin would be teaching the class and everyone would come in expecting a man who is at least a dozen years older than I am. After explaining that he is my brother, the class would think that I, too, am a werewolf, and then I'd have to explain that as well. So it would just be a whole lot easier to using my mother's maiden name and not confuse anyone too much."  
  
"Oh. Okay. Thanks again, professor." Harry left the classroom and headed straight back to the Gryffindor rooms. He took off his Invisibility Cloak and put it away. A few seconds after he lay down, he was asleep.  
  
Professor Harpsturn, on the other hand, was still wide awake. She drank the last of her tea and turned to a brown tiger cat sitting next to her a shelf meant for books.  
  
"Bean," she said to the cat, for that was its name. "What am I going to do? I took Remus's advice and talked to the kid. He seems alright, just scared of what's yet to come. So would I, if I got half those images that he did. He's definitely a powerful one, Bean." She stroked the cat's cheek gently with her finger. The cat hopped to her lap, curled up, and purred. "You've got it easy, Bean. You don't have to worry about which cards to play at what time and then guess if what you did was right. You just worry about whether or not you have food, water, catnip, and a nice, warm lap." She sighed heavily. "I hate playing so many parts. To some, I'm just the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. To Harry, and maybe his friends, I want to be a mentor and ally and try to be a friend if they want me. To Dumbledore, I was sent to protect and teach Harry. I wasn't cut out for this, Bean. I wasn't! All I wanted to be was a normal Auror. I was never cut out to teach. I was cut out to fight." She paused and tickled the cat behind the ears. Bean purred louder. "You like that, huh, Bean? Maybe that's why I'm here. I am fighting. Against myself, against my students, against the other professors in which mostly none liked me when I was here. You know, Bean? That's why I left. That's why Remus suggested that I come back. That's probably why I'm here." Professor Harpsturn fell silent and continued to keep her cat extremely happy. "That's why I'm here, Bean. To do all the things I've never wanted to do before because they're too painful. I've got to tie up my past and work on getting the present straightened out. That's why I am here." She laid her glasses on her desk, reclined in her chair, and fell asleep with Bean purring contentedly on her lap.  
  
  
  
{Author's Note: I know the last bit with the monologue was pretty deep, but it was the easiest way to get the character out. This chapter's a little longer than the last one, but it's still pretty short. R&R please. I know I just keep throwing chapters out. For anyone who's interested, I wrote this one in one night along with most of Chapter 3. Chapters 1 & 2 were started and finished about two days before. Normally, I don't write this fast, so don't get used to have a chapter appear every few days, please. I have to keep up with Chemistry and Course 3 math this year, and those are tough as it is. If the Chapters aren't posted regularly, I apologize as for the reasons noted above. Thanks- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	5. First Glimpse

{Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in the Harry Potter World, J.K. Rowling does, save for the ones that are only figments of my very own overactive imagination.}  
  
Chapter 5  
  
First Glimpse  
  
{Random Author's Note: I love that word! GLIMPSE!! It just sounds cool, doesn't it?}  
  
Harry Potter had gotten only a small handful of sleep before Ron roughly shook him awake. He moaned and opened one bleary eye to look at his friend.  
  
"Come on, Harry, wake up! We're going to be late for breakfast!"  
  
Harry got up and pulled on a clean robe. He found his glasses and ran a brush through his hair, even though he knew that it wouldn't help much. Ron led the way out of the Gryffindor rooms and down to the Great Hall. Every one else who had stayed for Christmas was there already. They sat down near Hermione.  
  
"Good morning," she said as she noticed their arrival and Harry's appearance of still being more than half asleep. "What happened to you, Harry?"  
  
Harry blinked, trying to focus. He knew that he could tell him friends what had happened. "I had another nightmare about Vol-, You-Know- Who."  
  
Hermione nodded sympathetically. "You didn't sleep after that, did you?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "No, I didn't. Is it that noticeable?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh," Harry leaned in closer. "I couldn't sleep, so I took out the Cloak and wandered around for awhile."  
  
"What happened?" Ron asked.  
  
"Harry, you know how much trouble you could get into for doing that?" Hermione still could quote from the rulebook.  
  
"I was in the Dark Arts corridor when I heard Filch coming so I slipped inside the Dark Arts classroom."  
  
"Was the new professor in there?"  
  
Harry nodded. "Yes, she was."  
  
"Oh, Harry, how much trouble did you get in now?"  
  
"Actually, none."  
  
"None?" Ron's jaw dropped  
  
"None?" Hermione's face held the same expression as Ron's did but for a different reason.  
  
"Yes, no trouble what so ever."  
  
"How did you get off so easily?"  
  
"She had been forewarned about my dreams and my Invisibility Cloak. There are wards set around the classroom to reveal stuff that cannot be seen so I was seen even with the Cloak on. She introduced herself as Professor Harpsturn and offered me some tea. She then explained that Lupin warned her about me."  
  
"Professor Lupin?"  
  
"Exactly. She said that he's her older brother."  
  
"You mean that we have Professor Lupin's younger sister as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"  
  
Harry nodded. "She wants to talk with us this afternoon, around 2 o'clock."  
  
"All three of us?"  
  
"All three of us."  
  
"So we get to meet the new Dark Arts professor before anyone else." Hermione murmured. "Harry, did you tell Professor Dumbledore about your dream?"  
  
"Not yet. I plan to after breakfast."  
  
"Good."  
  
Harry looked to the head table. Professor Harpsturn wasn't there. Dumbledore was just leaving the hall. He got up and followed him out. "Professor Dumbledore, sir, I need to have word with you."  
  
"Of course, Harry. Just step into my office and we can talk."  
  
Dumbledore's office was located behind a gargoyle statue. "Blue Monkey," he said and the gargoyle jumped out of the way to reveal the door. Even though Harry had been inside the office a good handful of times, he was still amazed at the things inside. Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, was perched on a shelf next to the sorting hat. The Goblet of Fire was two shelves over from that. Pictures, magical devices, and spare socks were strewn over the rest of the empty places. Dumbledore sat behind his desk as soon as they entered. "Now what can I do for you, Harry?"  
  
"I had another dream last night, about Voldemort, sir."  
  
"What happened this time?"  
  
Harry told him everything that had happened. He told him about the wizard making the black creature out of the potion in the cauldron, and about its job to kill him. He told about being chased through the woods and almost getting killed by the creature.  
  
"Yes, Harry, I do believe that you were correct in telling me of this. It seems that Voldemort is out to kill you again. You must not tell anyone about this as to not frighten the other students, or the professors, might I add. You must keep constant watch. He has been known to strike at odd times. I'm especially surprised that he would resort to such a spell to create those creatures." Dumbledore paused and folded his fingers together on his desk. "Have you met the New Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher yet? I believe she might be to your liking."  
  
"Yes, I did actually. She said something about me being a Dreamer."  
  
"She did and you are. I talked with her this morning. She believes that you are a lot stronger than you seem, especially in the dream world. I'm going to tell you this, Harry. She's an Auror and can be trusted."  
  
"Is she really Professor Lupin's sister?"  
  
"Yes. You should be pleased to know that Lupin was the one to suggest her for the job. I wouldn't have thought of her as an instructor, but for half a year, she'll have to do. Now out with you. Go enjoy your time off. And don't forget to wear your socks." Dumbledore ushered Harry out of his office.  
  
To no surprise, Ron and Hermione were waiting for him.  
  
"Well? What did he say?" Ron was being ever curious.  
  
"He seemed surprised that You-Know-Who would resort to spells that conjure strange creatures out of potions."  
  
"That's all?"  
  
"He said that the new professor was an Auror."  
  
"Wow. They aren't taking any chances, are they?" Hermione decided.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"They're putting an Auror in the school to protect against the Dark Arts again. Where a better place to put one than in disguise as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"  
  
"Good point."  
  
"Plus Moody was supposed to be an Auror, but that plan backfired, so I guess the Ministry decided to try again it."  
  
The three traveled back to the dormitories and spent the rest of the day there until it was time for the appointment.  
  
Harry looked at his watch. "It's almost two. Want to head down to the classroom?"  
  
"You just don't want to lose to me again in chess," Ron complained.  
  
"Sure, Ron, whatever you say. You've only beaten me seventeen times today alone."  
  
Hermione stood up from the table that she had been working at. "Come on, you two. We should probably go." They left the common room and went down to the Dark Arts classroom. Harry knocked at the door and waited. No one answered. They couldn't tell if anyone was there.  
  
"Maybe we should go," Ron said. "It doesn't seem as if she's here."  
  
"Of course I'm here, Mr. Weasley. I'm not one to miss appointments," Professor Harpsturn was standing behind them wearing black robes and carrying a rather large book. "Could you open the door please, Miss Granger?"  
  
Hermione pointed her wand at the door. "Alohomora." The lock on the door unbolted and Hermione pushed it open. The professor entered followed by Ron, Hermione, and Harry.  
  
Professor Harpsturn deposited the tome on her already cluttered desk. "Have a seat." She gestured to the three chairs that had just moved in front of her desk. "I'm Professor Harpsturn, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Would you like some tea?" A purple flowered teapot appeared on her desk and began to pour four mugs of tea. The trio each took a mug and so did the professor.  
  
She took a sip and continued her speech. "I already know who all of you three are so don't worry about introductions. You're probably wondering why I wanted you to come here. It's rather difficult to know what you have learned with having a different professor each year and having no notes as to what was taught save those of my predecessor doesn't help much either, especially since those happen to be in Russian. At least I think they're in Russian. What I want to know is what have you learned in previous years in this class so far?"  
  
And so they began to explain: "In the first year, we learned about vampires…"  
  
"Kappas, and Red Caps, and Grindylows…"  
  
"Bogarts…"  
  
"Werewolves…"  
  
"Yes, I do suppose Lupin taught about that if he did to none of the other students," Professor Harpsturn grinned. "What else?"  
  
"Curses…"  
  
"The Unmentionables…"  
  
"You mean the Unforgivables?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Defense against curses…"  
  
"Defense against the Imperius Curse…"  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued on for a few moments longer before they ran out of other thing that they had learned.  
  
The professor looked at them, considering her options. "Well, that should make it lot easier for me. How much hands-on work have you had?"  
  
Ron answered. "In our second year, the only hands-on work that we had was when Professor Lockheart opened a cage of pixies in the classroom."  
  
"Then in our third year, Professor Lupin taught mostly hands-on experience in every thing." Harry added.  
  
"Kudos to him," the professor commented.  
  
"Professor Moody taught us how to get out of the Imperius Curse, but that was almost it, and last year there was barely any."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"No one could understand Professor Slaskovic's accent, so he found it much easier to teach us out of the book," Hermione finished.  
  
"Then I have made up my mind on what I shall teach, I think. There might be a couple changes, but thank you anyways for your assistance, you've been a big help." She ushered them out of the classroom.  
  
"Well, that was interesting, Bean," Professor Harpsturn decided as she spoke to her cat. The cat cocked its head at her and squeaked in agreement. "Remus was right again. They are definitely not ordinary kids. Something great will become of them. Our only problem now is to figure out what it is."  
  
  
  
{Author's Note: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!! This thing is now five chapters and I've yet to have one single solitary person review it. The question is, if no one reads it, do I continue or leave it and start again? I will answer no to that one for the sake that I have at least three more chapters figured out roughly in my head. I also plan to include a few dragons, a demon, more of the Shadow Beasts, and a Quidditch match (in chapter seven, maybe). The show will go on whether or not people choose to become involved with it or not. To be rather blunt, all I want is opinions on my writing. Flame me for heaven's sake! You people just don't get do you? Thanks anyway- Nataly Ravenlock}  
  
{{If you can't tell I'm in a rather bashing mood today.}} 


	6. In Which Something Goes Wrong in Potions

{Disclaimer: All this stuff belongs to J.K. Rowling (A.K.A. most high omnipotent being). I do have a tiny chance of owning Professor Harpsturn and Bean the cat and few other figments of my hyper imagination that do not exist quite yet but will soon.}  
  
Chapter 6  
  
In Which Something Goes Wrong in Potions  
  
Vacation was over, the students came back to Hogwarts, and classes began once again. Just make the students extra miserable, the Gryffindor sixth years and the Slytherin sixth years had Potions first thing in the morning after breakfast. Potions was never a highly enjoyable class with Professor Snape teaching it, but it made the day worse for Harry, Hermione, and Ron for the fact that they were in the same classroom as Draco Malfoy, their arch nemesis.  
  
"Why if it isn't Potty, Frizzball, and Weasel," Malfoy drawled as he approached. "Where's your Christmas presents, Weasel? Oh, that's right! Your family's too poor to get you any!" Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle started laughing as if Malfoy had made the greatest joke of the year.  
  
Ron's face was turning a shade of red to match his hair. He balled his fists at his side. Hermione put up a warning hand. "Ron. No. He's not worth you hitting him. He just wants to get you in trouble."  
  
"Aw, how sweet. Weasel needs a girl to stand up for him."  
  
"Knock it off, Malfoy," Harry's voice was turning low and dangerous.  
  
"Oh, I'm scared now," Malfoy shrunk back mockingly. "Potty's going to hurt me. Wait, can he hurt anything more than a fly?" Goyle and Crabbe started to laugh again.  
  
Before, Hermione could do anything, Harry leapt forward at Malfoy, knocking him to the floor. Harry pinned Malfoy to the stones below him. "This is the last time you insult me or any of my friends, Malfoy." Harry stood up, dragging Malfoy to standing position by the lapels of his collar.  
  
"Gee, Potter, I didn't know you had it in you," With that Malfoy threw a punch at Harry's head. It was easy enough to see and Harry ducked. The momentum of the punch threw Malfoy off balance and caused him to hit Ron instead. Ron, not being one to take a punch easily, gave Malfoy one right back in his stomach. Malfoy, hunch over breath almost knocked out of him. Seeing their friend being beaten up by Gryffindors was too much for Crabbe and Goyle. Being the thick headed people that they are, they joined in to the fray, randomly swing their arms at whoever was there. Goyle landed a strike on Hermione's shoulder. She gasped, jumped right back at him, and landed a punch to his temple. Crabbe was left with Harry to beat up.  
  
Students coming to class coagulated into a ring around the six. Neville, Dean, and Seamus cheered on the three other Gryffindors especially loudly and the whole bunch of Slytherins egged on Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.  
  
"WHAT is going on here?" Professor Snape stalked around the corner, black robes billowing out behind him, hair as greasy as ever, and a mean glint apparent in his eyes. Those that were fighting froze.  
  
It would have been an amusing sight if not for Professor Snape standing over them. Goyle had Hermione pinned to the floor with a fist raised to strike her. Crabbe had Harry over a thick shoulder about to throw him even though Harry had Crabbe's thick neck wrapped in a head lock. Ron and Malfoy were locked in combat with hands around each others' throats, equal expressions of rage on their faces.  
  
"Well? I want an explanation. Now." Snape's voice turned more evil than it usually was, if that was possible.  
  
"Malfoy started it," a Gryffindor spoke up.  
  
"He was insulting Harry, Ron, and Hermione," Neville added.  
  
The Slytherins kept silent.  
  
The combatants let go of the positions that they were in. Hermione stood up. Harry did the same after he landed on the ground.  
  
"Is that true?"  
  
"Yes, sir. It is," Ron answered.  
  
"Detentions, all of you. Sixty points off from each house involved. I will arrange the detentions for those of my house. YOU three," he pointed to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "I will let Professor McGonagall decide what to do. Into the classroom. Now." He entered with the six trouble makers behind him. Everyone took a seat. "Today we will start will appearance changing potions. We shall start simple and work up to the harder ones. Turn to page 784 in you text books. We will start today with the Hair Color Changing Potion. Every one, partner up."  
  
The class did as told.  
  
"Mr. Longbottom, I want you and Mr. Malfoy to work together. Hopefully, you night do something right for a change," Snape sneered.  
  
Neville gulped nervously as he went over to Malfoy's table. He was terrified of Professor Snape and horrible at Potions. Malfoy glared at Neville.  
  
"Well? Begin!" Snape roared and most of the class jumped at the exclamation.  
  
Neville shakily opened up his potions book to page 784 as specified. He slowly read down the list. Six ingredients, how hard could it be?  
  
"Longbottom, you cut up these," Malfoy thrust a slimy wad of roots at Neville. Neville gulped again and began to slice. It was an almost impossible task considering the amount that his hands were shaking, but slowly it got done. Malfoy, even though he was favored by the professor, did want to get the potion correct so that he wouldn't have to do it again.  
  
"Put them in the cauldron, Longbottom," Malfoy enjoyed ordering people around quite immensely. Still shaking, Neville placed the roots in the cauldron. It began to bubble and turned a shade of putrid green.  
  
"Is- is it supposed to do that?" Neville whispered.  
  
"Longbottom, count out seventeen of these," Malfoy forced a sack of what looked to be a form of seeds.  
  
"One…Two…Three…Four…" Neville deposited them in the cauldron as he counted. "Ten…Eleven…Twelve…Thirteen..."  
  
Malfoy watched and sneered at his highly incompetent partner.  
  
"Fifteen…Sixteen…Seventeen…" Neville added the last one. As he straightened up, his sleeve caught the bag of seeds and tipped a few extra into the mixture. It began to bubble faster and swirled into a shade of parking cone orange, then into lime, then into sky blue.  
  
"Longbottom! What did you? You imbecile! It's not supposed to do that!" Malfoy screamed. Neville turned away from Malfoy reflexively. His foot caught the edge of the table and he fell. The table was knocked just enough to upset the cauldron. It spilled all over the table, the floor, and Malfoy.  
  
Malfoy screamed. The potion didn't hurt, but it was embarrassing to work with such a dunderhead like Neville, especially when something like this happened.  
  
"Well, well, well," Professor Snape tapped his wand against the palm of his hand. "What have we here?" He looked at Malfoy, who seemed to be seething with drops of the potions dripping off his face. He glanced down at Neville. "What did you do this time, Mr. Longbottom?"  
  
Neville whimpered. "I- I- I knocked the table, sir."  
  
"Mr. Longbottom, you never cease to amaze me with your incompetence. But, for once you seem to have done something correctly. Make sure from now on that is made a habit, not an accident."  
  
Neville looked at the professor, eyes wide with surprise and fright.  
  
"I did not tell you to test your potion yet. Five points off from Gryffindor." He paused and raised his voice so that everyone could hear him. "I would like every one to look at Mr. Malfoy's hair. What once was a pale blond is now, for the lack of any better terms, pink."  
  
The rest of the class burst out laughing, Harry, Ron, and Hermione especially loudly. Professor Snape was right. Malfoy's hair had gone from being an almost colorless bleached blond to a rather nice shade of bright magenta. It seemed to suit Malfoy better that his usual paleness.  
  
Neville stood up and managed to crack a small smile. He grabbed a few old towels and cleaned up the mess that he had made. The towels, too, turned the same shade as Malfoy's hair.  
  
Malfoy was pissed. His day seemed to be getting worse every minute. First having the fight with Potter and his loser friends and getting detention from it, now having to work with clumsy Longbottom and ending up with PINK hair. He felt like he was going to have murder someone very soon. Or at least maul them. Or hurt them very, very badly. Professor Snape dismissed the class while Malfoy was still fuming.  
  
Ron clapped Neville on the back as they walked out of the classroom. "That was awesome, Neville! Fred and George would have been proud." Fred and George Weasley had already graduated and opened up a joke shop in Hogsmead in which they could sell all the prank equipment that they themselves had used and invented.  
  
"Ron's right," Harry added. "Thanks for doing that to Malfoy. He definitely had it coming to him."  
  
Other Gryffindors had the same idea as Ron and Harry. "Did you see the expression on Malfoy's face?"  
  
"Yeah! That was sweet!"  
  
"Excellent!"  
  
"I can't believe you'd do something like that, Neville. I would have never expected you to get back at Malfoy like that."  
  
"He looks so much better with pink hair, doesn't he?"  
  
"I do agree with you. A little color does him quite well."  
  
Malfoy watched as the rest of the class filed out the door joking about his new hair and laughing at him as well. He stood there with his hands in tight fists and his teeth clenched. How dare they insult him! They'll learn better that to insult a Malfoy!  
  
  
  
{Author's Note: I would like to thank the THREE entities that reviewed my story.  
  
Voldie For Prez: Yes, I know it could use some improving. I haven't gotten to that stage yet. This is Stage One. After I'm done, I'll work on making it better. Thanks for catching the wrong name. It should be fixed now.  
  
For the Anonymous person who didn't leave a name other than Cr1Ms0n^D3v1L () (reminder to self: Check spelling), I thank you for your kind words in saying that my tale is "quite good" and to keep up the "terrific work."  
  
And to my friend who remembers the random stories trapped in various notebooks, THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
For everyone else, just read it! Oh, and BTW, I'm not bashing stuff anymore (for a couple minutes anyway). I took out my aggression in a few sparring matches last night, so I'm fine now. The point that I also did really well on all my midterms helps too, but I like the sparring better. It's much more fun. Thanks to you guys that actually like me! Oh, and this story is now officially over 10,000 words long. Yours Truly, Nataly Ravenlock} 


	7. Here There Be Dragons

{Disclaimer: The Harry Potter World belongs to the great J.K. Rowling. I only think I own Professor Harpsturn, Bean the Cat, Harriet, the Russian Comet, the American Blue, and the Sahara Sand Dragon.}  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Here There Be Dragons!  
  
{Author's Note before this chapter begins: No one is completely evil. The Chinese symbol of the Yin-Yang can be used to prove this. Its meaning is the balance of opposites. Yin is the female/ negative side and Yang is the male/ positive side. The positive side has a dot of negative in it and the negative has a dot of positive. Nothing that is negative is completely negative. Nothing that is evil is completely evil.}  
  
The day was brightened considerably for the Gryffindors. Not only did they have Defense Against the Dark Arts next, but it wasn't with the Slytherins. It was just the Gryffindors. The fact that Malfoy's hair was bright magenta also made the day better especially since there was no way to get the potion out of his hair without shaving Malfoy's head. He would just have to let it wear off. Pity.  
  
The classroom was dark but the door was open. The Gryffindors entered and took a seat, waiting for the professor and murmuring about what he/she/it would be like. No more than a few moments later, Professor Harpsturn walked into the room, dragging calmly behind her a small dragon. She brought it to the front of the classroom and tied it to an empty desk. She then turned and faced the class.  
  
"Hello, I'm Professor Harpsturn, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I have a few simple rules. One: raise your hand to ask questions. Two: don't touch anything unless I tell you to. What I mean by that is let's say that," she looked around the room, "Mr. Weasley here goes to pet Harriet," she gestured to the dragon that was now curled up near her foot. "Harriet, not knowing that Mr. Weasley indeed has good intentions, proceeds to chomp him on the hand, thus causing Mr. Weasley to more than likely scream and spend the rest of the day in the infirmary. So do not touch anything that might have the chance or harming you, which includes more or less everything in this room."  
  
The class sat in silent awe. They had not even been with the new professor for more than five minutes and she had already brought in a baby dragon.  
  
"Now, who knows what kind of dragon this is?" Professor Harpsturn levitated it with a wave of her wand.  
  
To no ones surprise, Hermione's hand shot straight into the air, followed shortly by Ron's, Harry's, and surprisingly Neville's.  
  
"Only four…" the professor murmured to herself. "Mr. Longbottom."  
  
"It's a Norwegian Ridgeback," he whispered.  
  
"Five points to Gryffindor for the correct answer. Yes, Harriet is a Norwegian Ridgeback."  
  
"Professor?" Lavender's hand went into the air.  
  
"Yes, Ms. Brown?"  
  
"Aren't dragons dangerous?"  
  
Professor Harpsturn looked down at Harriet. "Yes, they are which is why I am going to teach you about defending yourself against them. The only reason that Harriet is tamer than most dragons is because I used a taming spell on her when she first hatched. She is loyal to me and will obey me. I specifically asked her not to hurt any of you, so you have nothing to worry about."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Now the first thing about dragons that you have to be wary of is their flame and their tail." Professor Harpsturn lowered Harriet to sit on the empty desk. "The flame is what most people think of when they hear the word 'dragon.' They forget about the other dangerous part of these wonderful creatures. The tail is covered with sharp spikes and tends to whip around most of the time." She picked up Harriet's tail to show them the rows of sharp, wicked looking spikes. "The only way to be safe from a dragon is to be as far away from it as possible, but if you happen to end up near one, the best way to defend yourself is to run. Running might not help much since the dragon can fly, so the next best thing is to hide. Hiding won't help if the dragon is angry enough to start flaming everything and scorches you instead."  
  
Professor Harpsturn stopped for a moment. "The only way you can survive a dragon attack is stay in groups and constant vigilance. That's all for today. For the next class I want you to read the section on dragons and summarize the distinguishing characteristics of the dragons mentioned. Dismissed."  
  
The class filed out of the room, not knowing what to think about the teacher. She seemed all right, even if she did start class by bringing in a Norwegian Ridgeback that she called Harriet. Hopefully, she would be more interesting than some of the other teachers that they had in the past.  
  
Professor Harpsturn attached a dog leash to the studded collar around Harriet's thick neck. "Come on, Harriet. Let's bring you back before anyone misses you." Harriet was lead out of the classroom followed by the professor.  
  
Professor Snape was wandering through the halls in hope of finding students out of place that he could give detention to. He turned the corner to the Dark Arts corridor, hoping to catch someone loitering there. To his surprise, some one was actually where he wanted them to be. A small figure in an oversized black cape was hunched over by the door, wand in hand, muttering a few choice words that he didn't quite pick up.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked menacingly. How he loved tormenting people.  
  
"I just finished attempting to reconfigure the lock on this damn door so it will listen to me and can only be opened by passwords," the person explained through clenched teeth as she stood up and faced him. "Oh. It's you. Hello, Severus."  
  
Snape's jaw dropped in one of his few expressions of dumbfounded surprise. "Emeline?"  
  
"It's me. You haven't changed, have you, Severus?"  
  
"But how'd you get here? Last time I checked you were somewhere in the United States."  
  
"As strange as it sounds," Professor Harpsturn paused and drew herself up to her full diminutive five feet of height. "I am the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."  
  
Snape let out a short bark of laughter that seemed highly out of character. "You? Why'd they hire you?"  
  
"Remus convinced them to."  
  
"Your brother wanted to get back at you for what you did to him?"  
  
"More likely than not. He knows that I dislike working with people, but I have the qualifications and the Ministry wanted an Auror here for safety's sake."  
  
"Wait a second. You're an Auror? When did that happen?"  
  
"A few years back, before I left England and went to the U.S. I decided to become one. I don't know why I did, but seemed like a good idea at the time."  
  
"How come no one told me that you'd be here?"  
  
"I purposely told Dumbledore not to tell any of the other professors that I was here and teaching."  
  
Snape nodded knowingly. "Minerva's still ready to skin you alive."  
  
"I guessed that. Trelawny, Vector, Hooch, Sprout, the list goes on. I think the only ones here that don't want me flayed for something that I did to them are you, Hagrid, and Dumbledore."  
  
"So you won't be coming to dinner tonight then, will you, Emeline?"  
  
"I'm afraid not. When I need to show myself, I will."  
  
"Don't they know that you're the new professor though?"  
  
"I'm under the name of 'Harpsturn' instead of Emeline Lupin. It's for the best, Severus. It really is."  
  
"I know. How about later tonight, in my office? We can catch up on what's happened."  
  
"I'd love that. It's the first time I'll actually be welcomed back here." Professor Harpsturn grinned as she felt the tug on the leash behind her. "Oh, shit. Harriet," she turned back to the dragon behind her. "Heel. We'll bring you back in a few minutes."  
  
Snape looked at the dragon head peeking out from behind her robes. "You haven't changed either. I still remember the last time you brought one of those things in here."  
  
Emeline shrugged off the comment. "Harriet's a Norwegian Ridgeback and under a taming spell. Benjamin was a Chinese Fireball without the taming spell. I've learned since then."  
  
"It's a good thing that you have. We wouldn't want any students getting scorched, now would we?"  
  
"I won't do it on purpose. I have to bring Harriet back now. Want to come? I have a few others out there as well, a Russian Comet, an American Blue, and a Sahara Sand Dragon."  
  
"Dumbledore's letting you keep four dragons at Hogwarts?"  
  
"No, actually, I have a few friends in Romania keeping them for me."  
  
"That's illegal."  
  
"No, it's not. I'm not breeding them and they aren't pets. I'm experimenting on a taming spell that when applied to baby dragons will make them obey the person who cast the spell."  
  
"Does it work?"  
  
"Sort of. It usually wears off after a few days then need to be reapplied and it only works until the dragon turns one. That's why its in the experimental stage."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So are you coming?"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"To Romania for a few moments so that I can return Harriet."  
  
"How do we get there?"  
  
She pulled out a rather worn looking Muggle pen. "Port key. It's set to go off in twelve minutes."  
  
"Then let us go."  
  
Professors Snape and Harpsturn left the Dark Arts corridor followed by Harriet, the Norwegian Ridgeback.  
  
Neville let out a sigh of relief as he saw them walk away. He didn't know what to think about what he had just seen. Professor Snape was actually being civil to another human being. It was the first time Neville had witnessed something like that happen. He was glad he had seen it happen, but slightly upset that he couldn't get his Defense Against the Dark Arts: Level 6 book back until tomorrow. He turned and ran back to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
Ron had just kicked Harry's butt in Wizarding chess, again when Neville burst through the portrait hole. "You'll never guess what I just saw!" he gasped, out of breath from running the entire way back. Ron, Harry, and Hermione, being the only ones in the common room at the time, looked at him.  
  
"Neville, calm down," Hermione suggested.  
  
"What happened?" Ron asked.  
  
"I left my Defense book in the classroom, so I went back down to get it so I could start on the homework."  
  
The other three nodded knowingly at Neville's usual forgetfulness.  
  
"When I got down there, I saw Professor Snape talking with some one."  
  
"So?"  
  
"What's so special about that?"  
  
"It was a civil conversation. Professor Snape wasn't yelling or screaming or giving sarcastic comments to her. They seemed to know each other like friends."  
  
"Wow. That must be a first."  
  
"Who was the other person?"  
  
"Professor Snape has friends?"  
  
"The other person was our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."  
  
The expressions turned grim.  
  
"Dumbledore said that she was an Auror. Why would she be friends with Snape?" Harry asked.  
  
"I don't know, but she was. She said that he, Hagrid, and Professor Dumbledore were the only professors in the school that didn't want to flay her."  
  
"Oh. Did she say what she did?"  
  
"No. The only thing I heard that she might have done was something with a Chinese Fireball named Benjamin, but there were no details."  
  
"I think that we should keep our eyes and ears open. I still want to know why an Auror would be friends with a, quote, unquote, ex-Death Eater."  
  
  
  
{Author's Note: I just want to let you guys know that I feel that evil characters are not one sided, but have a nice side that does show once in a blue moon. I happen to like evil characters and have been called evil numerous times by many people, so that's why I portray Snape like this. If anyone has a problem with it, tough. I explained how I came up with this in the beginning. The only reason that chapters six and seven were uploaded at the same time is because of an EVIL English test that I was forced to study for instead of spending the night on my tale. Thanks- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	8. Tea Time of the Unshared Souls

{Disclaimer: The Harry Potter World belongs to the great J.K. Rowling. I own only the characters that you do not recognize from the books, movie, et cetera. The Twilight Zone Theme Song is owned by M. Donstant. Or at least that's what it says on the CD.}  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Tea Time of the Unshared Souls  
  
Professor Emeline Harpsturn wove unnoticed through the deserted halls. She made a mental note to ask Severus why his classroom was in the dungeons. She guessed it probably had to do with something about being morbid and causing fear, but it was only a guess. She knocked lightly on the barred door to the room.  
  
"Come in," the dark voice commanded her.  
  
Emeline entered and looked around. "Wow. Did you consider a career in interior decorating? I mean all the colors, how they blend so nicely together, and the wide variety of textures, its so invigorating!" A sarcastic edge was purposely placed in her voice.  
  
"Very funny, Emeline," Snape shot back as he entered from the direction of his office.  
  
Professor Harpsturn had the right to voice her comment. The dungeon was completely done out of rough cut stone. There were no windows and the only things that cut the monotony of the brick were two doors with barred peek holes. There were shelves to one side that held ingredients and a locked cabinet that held the more dangerous (illegal) ingredients. Stains in a multitude of colors decorated the floor as well as the student desks. Across the one wall was a tattered tapestry of some gruesome, monstrous beast. Elaborate black candelabras were in the corners with puddles of wax on the floor below them.  
  
"I thought it so. It's a mix between the castle of an evil overlord, a mad scientist's laboratory, and an art studio."  
  
"From you, I'll consider it a complement." Snape led her into his office. It was just as badly decorated as the classroom had been. "No, we aren't going to be in here." He pointed his wand at the portrait of a cave troll and whispered the password, which was in case anyone was wondering was, 'Molasses Crackles.'  
  
The room beyond was nothing like the two before it. A large Oriental rug was in the center of the hardwood floor. A comfy looking, evergreen couch and a wooden coffee table were placed in front of an ornately carved fireplace. Off to one side was a high backed chair in the same color as the couch and a tall, brass lamp. On the wall hung a tapestry of the Slytherin serpent in a background of black and green. The doors off to the sides most likely lead off to the bedroom and somewhere else.  
  
This time it was more heartfelt. "Wow! Maybe I was right in the first place."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"You becoming an interior decorator. It's a complete difference from the classroom, Severus."  
  
"I know. I keep the dungeon that way just for the looks. The students already hate me and think I'm evil, of course…"  
  
"You are, aren't you?"  
  
"Some what. I've changed, Emeline."  
  
"So have I."  
  
Brief foggy misty like thingy appears, the theme from the Twilight Zone is heard in the background, and the scene changes to that of the past.  
  
Yes, this IS a flash back insert evil laughter here  
  
A younger looking Emeline is sitting on a ledge in what appears to be the Astronomy tower. Her head is cradled in her hands and it is obvious that she is weeping. Her body convulses with sobs. A younger looking Snape appears through the door way. He seems like he just wants to look at the stars, but then sees Emeline. He recognizes her as a fellow Slytherin. She was one of the first years, it looked like. No name could be brought to her face.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asks softly.  
  
Emeline looks up at him, face streaked with tears. "No. Do I look okay?"  
  
Snape sat down next to her and put a hesitant arm around her shoulders. "What happened?"  
  
She sniffed. "I'm not sure if I want to tell you. I don't even know you."  
  
"Severus Snape," he introduced himself. "I'm a fellow Slytherin, a fifth year."  
  
"Oh. Nice to meet you. I'm Emeline Lupin, first Slytherin in my family and most probably the last."  
  
Snape's eyes widened. "You're Remus's little sister."  
  
"Yes. He's currently disowned me and denied that I even exist just because that stupid hat put me Slytherin. If I had been a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw, he wouldn't have done it. But of course not! I get put in the rival house of my brother, and he wishes I wasn't even here."  
  
"Ouch." He absently patted her back.  
  
"Exactly. My parents are going to have my head after they find out."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Every, single, solitary person who was a Lupin or married a Lupin was a damn Gryffindor! I'm the ONLY Slytherin in the history of my family! I'm a disgrace!"  
  
"That's not good."  
  
"No, it's not. Remus already sent a letter to our parents, so I'll get a letter of disownment in the morning."  
  
"We'll look out for."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"We're all like a big family in Slytherin. We look out for one another. I think it's like that in all of the houses, but I know it is in ours."  
  
Emeline looked up at him again, mournfully. "Really?"  
  
"Yes, really," she was beginning to frustrate him. "Come on, you git. Let's get back to the dorms before anyone finds us up here."  
  
She cracked a smile at him, and allowed herself to be led to the Slytherin dormitories. The common room was filed with people that Emeline didn't recognize.  
  
"Hey, Severus! Who'd you got there?" a rather pretty redhead asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah. This is Emeline Lupin, the first one in her family to be a Slytherin. Emeline, this is Red McConnell, trouble maker extraordinaire."  
  
Red looked at Emeline and grinned. "Welcome to our humble dorm," she raised her voice over the buzz of the other people. "Hey you guys!" The crowd hushed. "I want to introduce a new first year. This is Emeline Lupin, the first one in a family of Gryffindors," she said the word like poison. "To make it into the best house in Hogwarts!" Red raised the mug that she was holding. Everyone cheered and Emeline could feel her face flush in the excitement. "Here," a mug was passed to her and she sipped. It was butterbeer and it tasted wonderful. Emeline forgot about her brother and family for a while. She finally felt like a part of something.  
  
Remus never did forgive her for ending up in Slytherin, nor did the rest of her family. That night a gap opened that could never be closed.  
  
Another misty foggy thingy appears with the Twilight Zone Theme song playing.  
  
The trees cast shadows over the small group of people. A young Snape stood in the center of the circle near a figure cloaked in completely in black. He held out his forearm toward the figure. The man placed his wand on the arm and whispered an unheard incantation. Streaks of black rippled up Snape's arm to form the Dark Mark, a black skull with a snake.  
  
"You will serve your Master well, young Severus. He will help you come to greatness."  
  
Snape bowed low toward his new master, Lord Voldemort. "Yes, Master."  
  
"Go now. Instructions will be sent as to what you shall do."  
  
Snape turned and walked out of the Forbidden Forest, back to Hogwarts. Why did he have to do it? Why couldn't he have just run away? He knew the answers to these questions. He did it because it was expected of him. His father, grandfather, and numerous uncles all were Death Eaters. He was now one as well, and he would be one that no one would forget.  
  
Back to the present…  
  
Both Snape and Emeline were sitting on the couch, mugs of tea in hand and a plate of sweets on the coffee table. The fire blazed merrily, casting flickering shadows across the walls.  
  
"We lost track of each other after you graduated. What happened to us, Emeline?"  
  
"I don't know. I think that's what bothers me the most. It's been, what, almost twenty years since we've seen each other, hasn't it?"  
  
"Nineteen. It was at you graduation party. I heard nothing from you save a few post cards during the first five years. Then you stopped. I stopped, not knowing where you were. Where did you go?"  
  
"I was everywhere. I think I stayed in England for a few years after graduation. I joined the Ministry in an experimental department on dragons after that. I went to Romania for a while for the dragons, then went to the United States and became an Auror there. Then I got an owl from my brother that I had been purposely ignoring, asking me to teach at Hogwarts. I came just for the change of pace. What happened with you?"  
  
He lifted up his arm with the tattoo emblazed upon it, but didn't bother to push back the sleeve. Emeline nodded knowingly at what was there. "This happened. I spent six years following orders before I was asked to be Potions Master here. My Master felt it the best to take the position, to get a spy here at Hogwarts, close to Dumbledore and now, close to Potter." He paused and narrowed his eyes. "Why should I tell you this? You're an Auror now. You'll turn me in the first chance you get."  
  
"Severus, trust me. We were friends once. I've known about the Mark since you got it. I've had plenty of time to turn you in, but I haven't and I won't. I'd never do that you."  
  
"I know you wouldn't. There's too much Gryffindor in you with your damn honor and chivalry."  
  
"Then why'd you ask?" she shot back.  
  
"You said that you changed. I felt that maybe you had a different code that you lived by, one that might cause you to…" he faltered.  
  
"Kill you. Send you to Azkaban. No, I would never do that to you. That part of me is still the same."  
  
Snape muttered something about her being cursed with Gryffindor blood.  
  
"Hey, I never was a Gryffindor, okay? My parents disowned me the day after I graduated. Remus is the only one in the entire family that I've had a civil conversation with in the past year."  
  
"It figures."  
  
"What figures?"  
  
"Your brother, the werewolf, being the only one speaking with you. He's a dark creature, so are you."  
  
"No more than you are."  
  
"My students only think I am."  
  
"It's just the whole Slytherin thing. Anyone put in there is automatically considered evil. Why can't people see that some of us are just extremely ambitious and use any means to get to what we want? We are sweet people, really."  
  
Snape snorted. "I don't think that I would use that word to describe you, Emeline. You were only sweet when you had to act that way to get what you wanted."  
  
"Aw, come on," she shot a halo out of her wand that settled over her head. It vanished after a few seconds.  
  
"The horns make it slightly crooked."  
  
"I know, but I try hard."  
  
They sat in silence, thinking about past memories together. They had always been friends, since the first time that they had met. The other was always there when they were needed. Even through the difference of years, they stayed together until Severus had graduated. They saw each other some after that until Emeline had graduated five years later. Letters and post cards had been exchanged for maybe a year or two, but time and life caused them break apart. Now they were back together. Now, after nineteen years, they had been reunited by fate and fate alone.  
  
"I've missed you, Severus."  
  
"So have I, Em, so have I."  
  
  
  
  
  
{Author's Note: I now officially have five reviews!!!!! WOO-HOO!!!! YIPPEE!!!!! Please pardon author as she does a quick jig of exuberance Other than that, here's chapter 8, the longest chapter so far. Just to let you peeps know, the first half was written at around 10 o'clock at night while I was rather "energetic," to say the least. (I'm a night person. I function best after the sun sets. No, I'm not a vampire.) The second half was written before dinner the next day, after I had gone through religious education class (Yuck), dance practice for the school musical (fun), and Chemistry homework (no comment). If any of you have any ideas on where this should go from here, please let me know. What has happened so far was impromptu writing with no planning at all. All I have is a vague ending, which will most likely change. Also, I was thinking about writing a prequel about Emeline and Snape and the other Slytherins during that time and why all the other professors hate her. The question is will anyone read it?  
  
Kelzery: I will keep going until my muses in my head abandon me…author sighs as the muses give the author peeved looks for thinking that they would abandon her at such a time of great creativity I did change the summary though. Hope its better.  
  
Kary Starr: Thanks. Slytherins rock!} 


	9. Revenge

{Disclaimer: The Harry Potter World belongs to the great J.K. Rowling. I own only Professor Harpsturn, Bean the Cat, Allie Eldritch, and maybe Sam and Joe Ouimett, but they might own themselves.}  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Revenge  
  
It was the third Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor verses Slytherin. Usually this match was held in the beginning of the year, but the schedule had been changed for an unknown reason.  
  
The Gryffindor Quidditch team had lost four players over the past two years. The only players left from the original team when Harry had first started were Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet. Two years ago, Seamus Finnigan had been chosen to replace Oliver Wood as Keeper. A brother and sister team, Joseph and Samantha Ouimett, took over for Fred and George Weasley earlier this year. Even though Joe was a year older, they worked well together and were a lot like another pair of human Bludgers. The only surprise that occurred was when Ron tried out for the team and ended up as the other Chaser. It seemed to be a family tradition to have a Weasley on the team.  
  
The morning was cold, damp, and clammy. It wasn't perfect weather to play in, but it would have to do. The Gryffindors were huddled in their locker room.  
  
Captain Katie Bell cleared her throat for attention. "Okay, team, you know the drill. We're going to go out there and win. Even though we've got three new players this year, we still have the best team there ever was and will be. We've got two awesome Beaters."  
  
Joe and Sam gave each other high fives. "Come on, we aren't that good."  
  
"Stop it, you're flattering us again."  
  
Katie continued after glaring at them. "A fantastic Keeper…"  
  
Seamus blushed but grinned in the hype of things.  
  
"Three excellent Chasers…"  
  
"Yeah! You bet!" Ron shouted.  
  
"And the best Seeker that Hogwarts has ever seen!"  
  
The entire team cheered.  
  
"Let's go kick some Slytherin butt!"  
  
Katie placed her hand in the center of the circle. "On the count of three, Gryffindor Rocks."  
  
Six more hands were placed on top of hers. "One…Two…Three!!!!!"  
  
"GRYFFINDOR ROCKS!!!!!!!!" The cry was heard inside the stadium.  
  
"Lets go, team, we've got a game to win!"  
  
Since Lee Jordan had graduated, the commentator's position was taken over by a fourth Gryffindor named Allie Eldritch, who was a natural loud mouth and biased toward her own house.  
  
"The Gryffindor team enters the field ready to battle with their arch nemesis, the Slytherins. The team is lead by Katie Bell, a very strong Chaser, and includes Alicia Spinnet and Ron Weasley, also Chasers, Seamus Finnigan playing Keeper, Sam and Joe Ouimett, the new pair of human Bludgers, and the Famous Harry Potter, as Seeker!"  
  
The Gryffindor side of the stadium went wild while the Slytherins booed loudly.  
  
"The Slytherin team," Professor McGonagall nudged Allie.  
  
"Here comes the Slytherin House team, decked in green and lead by Draco Malfoy, their seeker who still happens to be fashionably sporting bright pink hair."  
  
"Allie!" McGonagall warned.  
  
"What, Professor? I'm just stating the obvious. Malfoy is followed by Crabbe, Goyle, Montague, Warrington, Stephanos, and Young."  
  
The Slytherin side screamed just as loud as the Gryffindors had before and the Gryffindors booed even louder.  
  
Madame Hooch walked out to the field, the box of Quidditch balls in one hand, broom in the other.  
  
"Madame Hooch enters the field."  
  
"Now, let's have a civil game today. Team Captains, shake hands."  
  
Katie Bell and Draco Malfoy shook each others hands as uncivil as a hand shake could get. The popping of bones could be heard from both sides until the grip was released. Madame Hooch released the balls.  
  
"Warrington of Slytherin takes control of the Quaffle. He's intercepted by Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor. The Quaffle races down the field toward the Slytherin goals. She shoots, and SHE SCORES!!!! 10 to 0 Gryffindor in the lead." The Gryffindor side cheered. "Slytherin takes possession. The Quaffle passes from Montague to Young back to Montague and over to Warrington. Warrington shoots. Awesome save by the Gryffindor Keeper, Seamus Finnigan! Katie Bell of Gryffindor gets the Quaffle. Ouch! A Bludger's shot at Bell of Gryffindor by Crabbe. Gryffindor looses the Quaffle to the Young of Slytherin. Joe Ouimett shoots a Bludger at her. Nice shot, Joe! Weasley of Gryffindor grabs the Quaffle and flies toward the Slytherin goals. He feints to left, right, and shoots! Gryffindor SCORES!!!!!!!! 20 to 0 Gryffindor!"  
  
Harry flew languidly around the field, watching for the Golden Snitch. He saw nothing save Malfoy trailing behind him, grinning wickedly. A Bludger whizzed past his right ear.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that, Harry!" Sam Ouimett chased after it and shot it to the back of Warrington's head. It hit home.  
  
"Ouch! Penalty shot to Slytherin for the Bludger at Warrington's head! Young takes it. She shoots. Fantastic save by Gryffindor Keeper. Way to go, Seamus!"  
  
A glint of gold caught Harry's attention. It was over across the field by the Slytherin goal posts. He turned and shot over there followed closely by Malfoy. It had disappeared and Harry continued his circling.  
  
What sun that there was slowly disappeared behind a cloud. The sky darkened, but it did not dampen the players' spirits.  
  
"Montague of Slytherin takes the Quaffle from Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor, he shoots. HE SCORES!!!!!!!!! 20 to 10, Gryffindor in the lead."  
  
The Slytherin side went crazy.  
  
A dark shape began to take form on the far side of the field behind the Slytherin goal posts. It rose up malevolently, features barely discernable.  
  
"What the hell is that?"  
  
"Allie, watch the language."  
  
"No, really, Professor. There's something behind the Slytherin goal posts."  
  
"Oh. My. God." Professor McGonagall jaw dropped. She grabbed the magical megaphone. "Stop the game! Everyone evacuate the field! There is a demon on the loose behind the Slytherin goal posts!"  
  
Harry looked around from his high perch. So this was a demon. He then noticed something gold appear two feet in front of him. He reached out and grabbed it. He had the Snitch.  
  
People ran in total chaos from the field. A few professors were trying to herd the students into the great hall.  
  
Harry noticed that the rest of the two teams had flown off toward the castle as the demon was mentioned.  
  
The demon loomed closer. "Well, what have we here? If it isn't the famous Harry Potter," it sneered.  
  
The voice sounded familiar to Harry. He knew he had heard it before, in a dream. Yes, it was from a dream. It was the voice that had murdered both his parents in cold blood. It was the voice of his worst enemy, Lord Voldemort.  
  
"What do you want from me?" Harry voice sounded stronger than he felt.  
  
"You know exactly what I want, Harry. I want you. I want you dead."  
  
From down below, four figures rushed forward, wands raised to strike. "DAEMONON EXPELLIUS!" Blue light blasted out of each wand striking the demon.  
  
An inhuman scream cut through the air as the creature shrunk away. "I'll get you, Harry Potter. This is the warning that will be your last. Beware." The voice paused as its shape was almost faded completely away. "You…will…DIE!!!!!" The demon disappeared with a loud POP!  
  
Harry sighed and took a deep breath. He lurched in the air, remembering that he was on his broom. Something slammed into him, and the last thing he could remember was falling…  
  
Falling…  
  
Falling…  
  
  
  
{Author's Note (currently it's an A natural): My reviews are up to six, mind you. I don't see why you peeps won't read this. All five of the reviewers that have read it seem to think that its half way decent. That's what they say at least. Maybe they're just trying to make me feel good… Oh, well. It'll keep going. I think I have an idea of something like the next chapter and a bit after that, but they're in the works yet. On another note (E-flat, this time), I hope what was there of the Quidditch match didn't suck too badly. I'm not a spectator sports fan and have no idea about commentating. The only sport that I know something about is Martial Arts, but that doesn't help, unless Harry wants a 9.4, 9.6, 8.9, and 9.1 for the performance of his original flying impromptu Kata. evil laughter, as author pictures four solemn faced tournament judges in complete uniforms trying to grade Harry flying on a broom  
  
Kelzery: (Back for the second helping!!!! Thank you for being a consistent reader!)You can have my muses. Or at least one of them. In fact, I'll give one to you. You can have the cat shaped one that decides that the mouse is a play toy and the computer screen in something to rub against. Muse starts purring as loud as an eighteen wheeler and kneads author's shoulder Maybe not. You can have the other ones. They've left me for a while, I think. I haven't gotten much past this chapter. Maybe they went to you, hopefully. You are an awesome writer by the way. I just finished reading one of your stories (what's there so far) and it's really, really good.  
  
Thanks to those of you that actually read this- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	10. Living Nightmare

{Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to the great J.K. Rowling. I only own the characters that nobody recognizes from the original story.}{Posted: January 31, 2002}  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Living Nightmares  
  
Four beams of blue blazing light shot out of each of their wands to hit the demon straight on. It began to shrink, but not before it called out to the lone figure on the broomstick above them.  
  
"I'll get you, Harry Potter. This is the warning that will be your last. Beware. You…will…DIE!!!!!" The demon faded from view and disappeared. Professor Harpsturn looked up at Harry on the broomstick. He slumped forward and started to fall. She pointed her wand at him before he could reach the ground. "PALOMIUS!" He floated to the ground like a feather and she caught him in her arms. Snape ran up behind her, realizing what she had done. "Here." She deposited the boy in his arms. "Bring him to the infirmary." She opened Harry's clenched hand. The Snitch was still there, fluttering weakly. Professor Harpsturn pulled it out. She looked around and saw both Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall staring at her. "Oh, shit. Hello, Minerva. Your team won the Quidditch match." The Golden Snitch was held up and tossed to Dumbledore.  
  
Professor McGonagall was holding Harry's broom. Her face held a look between amazement, disgust, and confusion. "What are you doing here?" she asked tersely.  
  
"Teaching. Teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts to be exact." Professor Harpsturn smiled grimly.  
  
Professor McGonagall turned to Dumbledore. "You hired her!?"  
  
"Yes, I did."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"She's the only one who volunteered to take the position. It is quite difficult to find a good Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and when someone volunteers to teach the class, it seemed best to hire her, no matter what she had done in the past."  
  
Professor McGonagall gave Professor Harpsturn a look that would have done some good damage if looks could kill. Professor Harpsturn smiled again and followed Snape to the infirmary.  
  
"Poppy!"  
  
Madame Pomfrey looked out from behind a curtain. "Yes?" She then noticed Harry in Snape's arms. "Oh, my. I've always said that broomsticks were dangerous. Put him on the bed." She gestured to an empty one and Snape set him there. "What happened?"  
  
"A demon appeared in the middle of the Quidditch match. We evacuated everyone, but Mr. Potter decided it best to stay in the air," Snape explained  
  
"The demon talked with him and as it disappeared, he was hit with a spell that caused him to fall off his broom," Professor Harpsturn spoke softly.  
  
Madame Pomfrey looked at her. "Who are you?"  
  
"Emeline Harpsturn, the new Defense professor."  
  
"Oh. Nice to meet you." She bent down over Harry's limp form on the bed. "There's no broken bones, or anything majorly wrong with him. It's almost like he's sleeping… Hmmm… I'll keep him here until he wakes up. I don't believe there's anything else that we can do for him and it would be best to let him sleep of the spell that hit him."  
  
The two professors nodded. "Thank you."  
  
Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore as he watched the other two professors walk off with Harry. "Albus, what's the meaning of this?"  
  
"Emeline is an Auror, Minerva."  
  
"She is an Auror? Emeline Lupin is an Auror?"  
  
"Yes, she is. The Ministry wanted an Auror here for protection. She happened to be the only one who would take the position."  
  
"But why did you do it?"  
  
"She is highly trained in the Defense against the Dark Arts. She's changed from when she was here."  
  
"But what about all the trouble she caused? The dragons that she brought here that ruined a few classrooms, the other dangerous creatures, wandering around the Forbidden Forest, the pranks she pulled."  
  
"She's was just like the Weasley twins."  
  
"Albus, she was worse than both of them combined. Did they ever get their hands on a dragon and accidentally let it loose in the middle of the night? Do you remember all the kids in the infirmary after that night?"  
  
"No one died, though. There were only a few burns."  
  
"And clawings and bitings! She even named it, if I remember correctly."  
  
"Benjamin. Its name was Benjamin and it was a Chinese Fireball. She kept it in one of the abandoned greenhouses. It broke out one night and went to find her. She explained the entire story to me after it happened."  
  
"You listened to her? Albus, can you think of what she could do with the dragons now?"  
  
"Yes. Not many people have had close up study of dragons. I was hoping that she could teach our students about them and about protecting themselves from them."  
  
"She'll bring one into the school again."  
  
"She already has. A few days ago, she asked me if she could bring in a Norwegian Ridgeback. Yesterday she did."  
  
Professor McGonagall's mouth opened. "You let her do that?"  
  
"Of course I did. She let me see it. It was actually quite nice once you got to know it."  
  
"How do you get to know a dragon?"  
  
"Rather easily. Emeline has learned to communicate with them. All she had to do was ask it to behave and not flame at anyone and it did."  
  
"That's impossible!"  
  
"I watched her do it, Minerva. She can talk with them."  
  
"She's a Parseltongue?"  
  
"She's something like that. I don't know exactly what she is, but I do know that she can talk to dragons and that they listen to her."  
  
"Fine, Albus, keep her as a professor. The first time anything happens to any of the students, I will ask you to take her off the staff. I know the other professors will agree with me." Professor McGonagall turned and left, still carrying Harry's broom. Professor Dumbledore followed. He hoped that he had been right about Emeline.  
  
The last thing that Harry remembered was flying. The demon had rose up from behind the goal posts and threatened to kill him. A spell had been cast to kill the demon, but as it died, it shot something at Harry and he fell. He opened his eyes.  
  
The room was reminiscent of the boy's dormitory. A large four post bed stood in one corner, a table with two chairs near another wall. There were no windows and only one door with bars. Harry sat on the floor atop a woven blue rug.  
  
He didn't recognize this place.  
  
The door opened. A man in a long black cloak with green lining entered and looked around. Harry stood up.  
  
"Why, Harry, don't you remember me?"  
  
  
  
{Author's Note: It's a Cliffy. I know that this is a relatively short chapter, but I felt the need to clear things up before I went on. I know that the next chapter will be longer because there are things that need to be done in it. (i.e. where Harry is, who is the other guy, how Harry got there, what the other guy does to Harry, what the other guy wants Harry to do.) I don't know if I said too much, but maybe that chapter will get written today as well, for we have a snow day and I have nothing better to do, except for maybe Chemistry and English homework. Thanks for reading, May The Force Be With You- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	11. Evil Laughter

{Disclaimer: All right already! I don't any of them, really. J.K. Rowling does. Not me. I only own the few twisted bits of imagination that turned into characters.}  
  
{Posted: January 31, 2002}  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Evil Laughter  
  
Harry stared at the man for a moment. "Tom Marvolo Riddle," he spat out the name as if the taste of it was something foul.  
  
"Ah, you do remember our little foray in the Chamber of Secrets. Wonderful. Now, Harry, I want you to know that if you refuse my offer; I might have to kill you. I want you to join me."  
  
"Never."  
  
"Harry, Harry, Harry, you just don't learn do you?" Tom pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. "Crucio."  
  
Harry writhed in pain magnified thousands of times. What felt like years, was only minutes in reality. He heard himself scream like a wild animal being torn limb from limb. The pain stopped as suddenly as it had started, but Harry could still feel the throbbing through out his body.  
  
Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, left the room leaving Harry on the floor. Harry wrapped his arms around his legs and rocked himself back and forth. He slowed down his breathing until he calmed slightly and stood up again. He found his wand where he had left it: in his pocket. He felt better once he knew it was still with him.  
  
The question now was where was he? For all he knew he could be still at Hogwarts or in some other country, city, state, even world maybe. Without windows, he couldn't find any landmarks to show him his location. The only way out was through the door, through Voldemort. That would be nearly impossible, but he might be able to do it. Harry sat down and started to think.  
  
A knock came at the door a few hours later and it opened. Voldemort stepped into the room again. "We are going to try this again, Harry. Will you join my forces and fight by my side? I can make you great, Harry. We can take over the world, rule it side by side. Together we could be unstoppable. Will you join me?"  
  
"I would never join forces with you, Voldemort." Harry said quietly.  
  
Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry again. "Crucio!"  
  
Harry fell to the ground, in worse pain than he had been in before. His arms and legs shot out at odd directions and shook like a bad seizure. His pain racked nerves howled in their agony. Voldemort stopped. Harry lay on the floor moaning softly. He heard the foot steps leaving the room and sound of the lock bolt as the door slammed.  
  
He felt to his side for his wand. It occurred to him that Voldemort might not know he had it. Some how in his great master plan, Voldemort overlooked the point that Harry had begun to carry his wand with him during Quidditch matches. He took it out of his pocket and pointed it at the door. "Alohomora." It refused to open. He should have thought that Voldemort wouldn't lock him in an ordinary room that he could get out of. There would be a magic lock on it that only Voldemort could open.  
  
*Welcome to the kingdom of dreams, Harry Potter.*  
  
Harry looked around. No one was there.  
  
*You can't see us, Harry. We are only spirits.*  
  
"Who are you?" Harry asked.  
  
*That is not important. The important thing is that you get out of here. Lord Voldemort means to kill you.*  
  
"How do I leave? How do I get out of here?"  
  
The voice was quiet for a few moments. It spoke sadly. *We do not know. We cannot leave here and do not know how. Good luck.* The voice faded from Harry's hearing. He was alone again.  
  
Footsteps echoed down the hallway. Lord Voldemort was coming again to ask him. Harry had an idea. He put his wand back in his pocket.  
  
Voldemort entered the room with the usual flourish of his cape. "Have you come to your senses yet, Harry? Will you join me?"  
  
"I have proposal to make. How about if you join me?" Voldemort looked at Harry in confusion. Harry took it as an advantage and raced forward out of the room. He turned left, left again, and ran down a flight of stairs. He could hear Voldemort screaming at him from somewhere behind. Harry kept running as fast as he could. A door opened to his right.  
  
*In here, Harry.* Harry obeyed and ducked into the room. The door closed softly behind him. Harry let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting of this new room. A pale specter sat in an overstuffed armchair. *Greetings, Harry Potter. Please sit down and let me explain something to you*  
  
Harry took a seat another chair. A puff of dust exploded out of it as he sat down and sneezed.  
  
*Where you are now is the kingdom of dreams. It is a world of ghosts and imagination. It is easy to get here but almost impossible to get out of. Lord Voldemort has been stuck here for years. He can only come out by finding a body, but he still is a ghost. The only way to kill him and stop him from causing mass destruction in your world is to kill him here. That is what you must do, Harry*  
  
"I have to kill him here? How?"  
  
*What ever means you have to use. I wouldn't suggest a killing curse. You are strong, but have not had the practice with them. It might not work and you only have one chance.*  
  
Harry closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Things were getting worse by the minute. He heard footsteps approaching the door to the room in which he hid. There were not one but, two pairs this time.  
  
"Tom!" a voice hissed.  
  
Lord Voldemort turned toward the other person. "It's you again. What do you want this time from me? My next attack plan? Who I plan on killing in the next month or two? You just don't give up, do you? I should kill you here and now before you cause any more trouble to me."  
  
"You wouldn't do that to me, Tom, and you know it. Now what did you do with Harry?" The voice reminded Harry of a reptile that he couldn't place.  
  
Harry got out of his chair and crept over to the door. He placed his ear near the crack on the floor. They were talking about him.  
  
"He's here, somewhere. I don't know exactly where, yet. He managed to escape about an hour ago. There, is that what you wanted?"  
  
"Yes, it is. Thank you very much, Tom. You're always so helpful." The reptile voice dripped with sarcasm. Harry heard footsteps leaving. Voldemort began to swear, using words that would have people of any world blush.  
  
"Who was that?" Harry whispered to the ghost that had been talking with him.  
  
*We do not know its name, but it comes in the form of a dragon. It is on your side.*  
  
Harry knew why the reptile voice had been familiar. It had reminded him of the dragons that he had dealt with before: Norbert, the four at the Triwizard Tournament, and Harriet in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It was good that someone or thing was on his side. He would not fight alone.  
  
*The hall is clear now. Lord Voldemort has gone on to a different level to look for you. Good bye, Harry Potter. It was nice to meet you.* The ghost disappeared.  
  
Harry left the room, wand in hand. The corridor was indeed deserted. His foot steps echoed loudly on the empty walls. His path varied. Sometimes he turned left, other times he went right. He went down some staircases and up others. He went through a few rooms, but no one was there. He found one that had a bed that didn't look too dusty and went to sleep.  
  
Ron didn't know what to do. Harry was asleep and wouldn't wake up. He kept flipping through the book that Hermione had told him to look through. They were in the library, searching for curses that would cause people to fall into a deep sleep which could not be broken.  
  
"There's nothing in here, Hermione. We've been looking since yesterday and none of the books on curses say anything about counter curses to wake people up."  
  
"Look harder," Hermione finished scanning a page and looked towards Ron. "There has to be something in here. I know it. We have to help Harry. We can't just let him stay like that until someone finally realizes what's wrong with him. I know what happened. We just have to find out exactly what it is and how to counter act it."  
  
Ron looked her as if she had grown a couple extra heads. "We've gone through all the books on curses here. There's nothing on countering a sleeping curse."  
  
"I think you might be on to something, Ms. Granger."  
  
Hermione turned around in her chair to notice that Professor Harpsturn was standing there looking over her shoulder. "Oh, hello, Professor," she said sheepishly.  
  
"So what have you figured out so far?"  
  
"Harry's been cursed and put into a deep sleep in which he cannot awake until the person who cast the spell undoes it or that person dies or we find a counter curse. Since the person that cast the curse is obviously He- Who-Cannot-Be-Named, he won't undo the spell and we don't know where he is, so he can't be killed. The only option left is finding a counter curse."  
  
"You're logic is correct, but you're missing a few pieces of key information."  
  
"What did I miss?"  
  
"First, where is Harry located? Second, what if Harry can kill He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named from where he is?"  
  
Hermione looked at the Professor. "Harry's in the infirmary, isn't he? He was there a few minutes ago when we checked in on him."  
  
"Not his physical body, his mental one."  
  
"He took Harry's mind and put it somewhere in order to get at Harry. That means that the most logical place for Harry to be while sleeping would be in the dream world," Hermione spoke slowly as she thought it through.  
  
"Ms. Granger, I am surprised that you didn't think of it sooner."  
  
"You mean that Harry is in the dream world?"  
  
"Yes, I believe he is."  
  
"What's the dream world?" Ron asked.  
  
"Don't you ever read?" Hermione shot a disgusted look at Ron. "It's the place where all dreams take place. It's in another realm. Usually the only things that live there are ghosts but some people have been known to learn to travel there. It actually is a common talent shared by all magical people. Some people don't even know about it any more, but there are a few people who still have the talent."  
  
"Correct again, Ms. Granger. Why would He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named put Harry there?"  
  
"He's a spirit. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has no actual physical body, so he must live there as well. That means that Harry's in danger!"  
  
"Don't worry about Harry, yet. He can take care of himself for now. What I want is your help in getting Harry back. You two are the closest links we have to him here."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"In order to get Harry out, we have to go in."  
  
"We?" Ron asked.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Weasley, we are going. You, Hermione, and myself are going to the world of dreams to rescue Harry."  
  
"Why us?"  
  
"You two are Harry's closest friends. Therefore there is link between you and him. I can get us to the world of dreams. You two are going to find him from there. Then we bring him back before You-Know-Who finds and murders him. Are you up to it?"  
  
"Sure, I guess so," Ron answered confusedly.  
  
"We get to go to the dream world," Hermione breathed excitedly.  
  
"Yes, we do, Ms. Granger. Are you coming with me?"  
  
"Of course I will!"  
  
"We'll go tonight. Meet me in my office at eight."  
  
"But, Professor, we have detention tonight."  
  
"I know. I already requested you two for tonight. Dumbledore said that I could take you. I figure either we rescue Harry or you can help me clean out cages."  
  
"Thank you, Professor."  
  
"Don't mention it. At eight o'clock, you'd better be in my office."  
  
{Author's Note: Okay, that was rather interesting. I had no idea where it was going the entire time. Thank what ever God/Goddess/Gods you pray to for snow days. I've written two chapters today and I'm on a roll! Thanks to those of you who decide to read this because you have nothing better to do- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	12. Chances of Consequence

{Disclaimer: The characters and all else in the Harry Potter world do NOT belong to me. If they did, I wouldn't be living in the middle of nowhere, now would I? But they don't and I am.}{Posted: February 2, 2002}  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Chances of Consequence  
  
Professor Harpsturn found Ron and Hermione waiting for her at the door to her classroom at exactly eight o'clock. "Hello, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger," she seemed to be in a rather jovial mood considering what she was going to do in the next few hours. "I'm glad to see that you could make it."  
  
"Hello, Professor," Ron spoke glumly, for he had no idea what he was jumping into.  
  
"Hello, Professor," Hermione chorused the same greeting with a bit more enthusiasm. "May I ask you a question?"  
  
"Certainly. What seem to be the problem?"  
  
"How exactly are we going to get to where we're going?"  
  
"Good question. Actually, I can get there quite easily, but I had Professor Snape concoct something for you two in order to make the journey between worlds easier."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"This reminds me, we have to go and fetch it. And yes, both of you are coming with me. It would be overly suspicious to have two students in my classroom with no professor there as well. Come along." She set off, striding down the hall followed quietly by Hermione and Ron.  
  
The barred wooden door to the Potions dungeon was shut, but a light could be seen coming from the crack underneath. Professor Harpsturn knocked on the door.  
  
"Who's there?" Professor Snape's voice was only slightly muffled by the thick door.  
  
"Emeline. I've come for the potion that you said you would make for me."  
  
A few thumps and seconds later the door opened to reveal a rather bedraggled looking Professor Snape. "What a surprise," he then noticed Ron and Hermione standing off to her right. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, what do you think you're doing here?" He glared at them.  
  
"They happen to be my assistants."  
  
"Dumbledore is letting you use two sixth years to go into another realm to find Potter?"  
  
"Yes. The spell requires people that know the victim very well. Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger are the closest we have to him."  
  
"Fine, follow me. It should be almost finished." Snape lead them into another room off of his office. It was his private laboratory. Insert evil laughter here He added the last ingredient to his bubbling cauldron and took it off the flame. He measured it carefully into two glass vials. It turned out to be a pearly white color. A cork was placed in each mouth. Snape handed it to Professor Harpsturn. "The Mind Release Potion. One of the most powerful concoctions that can be brewed my man. It grants who ever drinks it the ability to release their spirit for a short period of time and travel into the world of dreams. Give one vial to each of them. I'm going to save the rest in case it ever is needed again."  
  
"Thank you for your assistance," she turned towards Ron and Hermione. "Would you two wait in the classroom? I would like to have a few words with Professor Snape."  
  
Hermione and Ron stepped out into the Potions classroom.  
  
"Thanks, Severus. I guess I owe you one, now."  
  
"No, you don't. Just be careful, Emeline. I've just gotten you back. I don't want to lose you again."  
  
"I'll come back. Don't worry about me."  
  
Snape looked down at her and awkwardly wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Emeline looked up and thought that she noticed a tear in his eye. "You don't have to do this."  
  
"Yes, I do. It's why I was sent here. It's what I was sent to do. Good bye, Severus. I'll be back in a few hours."  
  
"Keep safe, Emeline," he let her go and watched her leave his office, carrying the pearly white mixture. Professor Harpsturn left the Potions dungeon followed by her two assistants.  
  
In the shadows of the corridor, something waited. It sat, unmoving waiting for its Master's signal. It could feel its victims getting closer, closer. NOW! The creature leapt out of its hiding place and landed square on Professor Harpsturn's chest. She rolled forward and rolled it over her shoulder. It immediately rose from the ground and snarled. She pointed he wand at it. "STUPEFIDIO!"  
  
"What- what was that?"  
  
"The spell? It's a more powerful form of the Stupefy spell. This one will freeze the person or creature until the person who cast the spell takes it off."  
  
"No, not that, the beast."  
  
Professor Harpsturn stared at the creature lying frozen on the floor in front of her. "I honestly do not know what it is. We should probably bring it to Dumbledore." Her eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted to the floor with a light thump.  
  
Hermione and Ron shared a look that said 'that wasn't supposed to happen.' "Ron, you stay here. I'm going to go get Professor Snape. He's the closest." Hermione left at a full run down the hall before Ron could have a word in.  
  
Hermione banged her fist against the think beams of the Potion's door.  
  
"What?" Professor Snape's voice was obviously irritated at being interrupted.  
  
"Professor Harpsturn just fainted after being attacked by some strange beast!"  
  
Professor Snape opened the door. "Is this your idea of a joke, Ms. Granger?"  
  
"No, sir. It really happened."  
  
Snape saw the slightly panicked expression on her face and decided it best to believe her. "Take me to her."  
  
Ron heard footsteps rushing around the corner and hoped that they belonged to someone would who help him. He had tried to shift Professor Harpsturn's position on the cold floor, but the only thing that she did was curl up into a fetal ball. Hermione, followed by Snape rounded the corner and stopped by Ron.  
  
"That's what attacked her," she pointed to the beast.  
  
Snape gaped at it. "I've never seen one of these things, except in books. It's almost impossible to create…" He saw the two teenagers staring at him. "You two, bring this thing to Professor Dumbledore. I believe the password has been change to 'Sponge Cake. I'll take Professor Harpsturn to the infirmary."  
  
Ron and Hermione each grabbed an end of the creature. It was a lot lighter that it looked. It was as if it had been made of air. They left towards Dumbledore's office.  
  
Snape picked up Professor Harpsturn easily in his arms. As Hermione and Ron departed, they heard Snape murmur softly. "Why, Emeline, why did he do this to you?"  
  
Snape had given them the correct password. Ron spoke "Sponge Cake," and the gargoyle jumped aside. They walked up the stairs dragging the creature behind them. The door opened for them before they reached it.  
  
"Come in. I've been waiting for something else like this to happen. Just put it over by the wall," Dumbledore's voice was a welcome calm after what had happened. They did what they were told. "Have a seat. Would you like some hot chocolate?"  
  
Both nodded.  
  
"Professor, what is that creature?" Hermione asked.  
  
"That, Ms. Granger, is one of Voldemort's more recent creations."  
  
Ron flinched at the mentioning of Lord Voldemort.  
  
"I always say that a name is nothing to be afraid of. It's what is called a Shadow Beast. Formed out of a special potion, the beasts only live twenty seven hours and can move only in shadows and darkness, hence the name."  
  
"There's one in Hagrid's cabin, too, isn't there?"  
  
"There was one, but it faded when its twenty seven hours were finished. Now, I would like you two to promise me not to tell anyone about this. Who else knows about it?"  
  
"The only ones that know are me, Hermione, Professor Harpsturn, and Professor Snape, and you, sir."  
  
"Where is Professor Harpsturn now? I should like to speak with her."  
  
"She's in the infirmary, sir. She fainted after she stunned the Shadow Beast."  
  
"Curious. Professor Snape is with her, then. Very well, I shall have to pay them a visit. Both of you are coming with me."  
  
They reached the infirmary to find Snape and Madame Pomfrey standing over Professor Harpsturn. She lay there comatose, eyes open yet unfocused. Incoherent mumbling escaped from her lips.  
  
"It seems that Voldemort has been underestimated," Dumbledore's voice broke through the silence.  
  
Mostly everyone else flinched at the mention of the name.  
  
"What do you mean, Professor?"  
  
"By attacking Professor Harpsturn and placing her under a curse that blocks her from the world of dreams, he took away our connection to that world until the curse wears off."  
  
Dumbledore looked down upon Ron and Hermione, standing alone together. "Yes, I do believe that it will be now up to you to find Harry. Severus, do you have the potion?"  
  
Snape held out the two vials toward Dumbledore.  
  
"Very well. We will get this over with now. Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, I would like each of you to lay down on one of the beds. Hold your hands together. It will keep you from being separated," he handed a vial to each of them.  
  
"Cheers," Ron tapped his vial against Hermione's and they both swallowed it in one gulp.  
  
They lay back down, hands clasped between them. Hermione could feel herself becoming drowsy and her eyes drifting downward to close. She felt a small snap and the feeling of absolute freedom. She floated upward, Ron next to her.  
  
"Good luck," Dumbledore's faint voice called to them. "Just let yourself be drawn toward the land and you'll get there fine."  
  
And so, they floated toward the Kingdom of Dreams.  
  
{Author's Note: That was another interesting chapter to write, especially the part with Snape. He actually is a human being. And no before any of you ask, there is nothing between Snape and Professor Harpsturn more that a brother-sister kind of love. That'll be explained once I decide to write the other story about Emeline's past. All I know so far is that it will be called To Be a Slytherin and that I won't formally put it out until this story is finished. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading- Nataly Ravenlock} 


	13. Kingdom of Dreams

{Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter character and world. I don't, but I do own Professor Harpsturn, the Kingdom of Dreams, and the original poem in which my idea came from that was written by me, and maybe a few things that you don't recognize.}{Posted: February 2, 2002}  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Kingdom of Dreams  
  
Far away through  
  
Leafy forests and  
  
Grassy meadows,  
  
Babbling brooks and  
  
Crystal lakes,  
  
Lays a place  
  
Unlike no other.  
  
No man has seen it.  
  
No beast has been there.  
  
Finding the palace,  
  
The Kingdom of Dreams  
  
Everyone's dreams  
  
Find their place,  
  
Hidden here  
  
In this unknown realm,  
  
With horrors  
  
And happiness,  
  
Life and death,  
  
Peace and war,  
  
Where no conscious  
  
Mind can see,  
  
In this sea  
  
Of unconsciousness.  
  
Dreams.  
  
{Author's Note: This poem belongs to me, written a few years back with no intention of actually using it for something like this. I apologize now if it is completely horrid.  
  
On with the story!}  
  
Hermione and Ron floated upward toward the heavens above, hands tightly gripped and not a sound echoing form either pair of lips. They flew out of England and Europe, watching the world below shrink until it was the size of a small blue green white marble. A castle slowly materialized around them.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
*Welcome to the Kingdom of Dreams. We have been expecting you.*  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
*That is of no importance. All you need to know is that I am on your side and was ordered to assist you in the locating of Harry Potter.*  
  
"Oh. Lead on then, one who cannot be seen."  
  
Ron and Hermione still kept their hands together at their sides, both wanting comfort of someone familiar being near them. They followed the ghost down numerous passageways until it opened the door into an ornately done room.  
  
*I will explain a few things to you from here. First this is the World of Dreams. It takes the form of a never ending ever changing Labyrinth. Some corridors are castles, others paths in the woods, more are rivers, plains, whatever else that can be imagined. This is the castle section. It is where your friend seems to be hiding.*  
  
The pair looked around the room. A simple yet elegant four post bed sat in one corner. A desk piled high with papers was against the wall. Thickly piled carpets decorated the floor in dizzying amounts of color.  
  
Ron and Hermione shared a look. "Let's go find Harry.  
  
"Point me!" The wand spun in her hand pointing a straight line toward the wall. "Well, we'll just have to follow it." And so they did.  
  
They followed passages that twisted, turned, and more than likely doubled back on where they came from until the wand pointed to a door. Ron reached out and opened it.  
  
Harry lay in the bed, thinking. He knew that he would have to find a way to escape eventually. The problems were that he would have to either avoid or fight Voldemort, and he didn't know where the exit was or if there even was an exit to this forlorn place. He fell asleep exhausted and still in pain from the Cruciatus Curse that had been placed on him twice with in a few hours.  
  
After what seemed to be only a few moments of blissful sleep, the door creaked open to Harry's room. He leapt out of the bed, still dressed in his rumpled Quidditch robes and brandishing his wand in front of him. He didn't expect to see Ron's head peek through the cracked open door.  
  
"Hullo, Harry. Fancy meeting you here."  
  
"Ron? How'd you get here?"  
  
Ron turned his head out of the door and entered the room. Harry was not surprised to see him followed by Hermione.  
  
"How'd you get here?" Harry repeated suspiciously.  
  
"We're you rescue party, Harry."  
  
"Rescue party?"  
  
"To bring you back to Hogwarts."  
  
"Oh. Okay. Just the two of you?"  
  
"There was three of us, but Prof-"  
  
A sudden crash was heard in the corridor outside the room. "POTTER!"  
  
Harry blanched as white as the ghosts that inhabited this world. He gulped, but succeeded in steeling himself. "I'm going to take him on." Harry left the room.  
  
Lord Voldemort stood in the hall a few feet way. He was still dressed in the black and green cloak and wore the Tom Riddle guise. "Potter, how nice it is to see you once again." The voice that spoke was cold as ice and slippery as an oil spill.  
  
Harry didn't bother to answer. "EXPELLIARMUS!" Voldemort's wand flew through the air towards Harry's out stretched hand. Harry broke it in half. Voldemort's eyes widened as he realized what Harry had just done.  
  
"You-you-you…"  
  
"What?"  
  
Voldemort pulled a knife out of his robes as he straightened up and threw it straight at Harry. Lucky for him, Harry was used to dodging Bludgers and was able to move out of the way. Voldemort flew at Harry arms outstretched, ready to kill. He hit Harry wildly with his fists, getting only glancing blows. Harry looked over to the side, where his friends were standing wide eyed. Voldemort took it as an advantage and took out Harry's knees. He automatically pinned Harry to the ground, knife to his throat.  
  
"You're going to die, Potter." He raised the knife arm to bring it down on Harry's exposed windpipe.  
  
"Not if I can help it!" Ron leapt from where he was standing, ramming straight into Voldemort, and knocking him off Harry.  
  
"STUPEFIDIO!" Voldemort froze where he landed on the floor, stunned by the curse from Hermione. She gave Harry a hand up.  
  
"Thanks. Where did you learn that one?"  
  
"From Professor Harpsturn a few moments before we came here."  
  
"Oh. Now we can go back?"  
  
"How?"  
  
"I don't know. Anyone have any ideas?"  
  
"We could try concentrating on going back to Hogwarts?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Think of Hogwarts."  
  
"Okay. If that's the best option, we'll try it."  
  
One by one their faces screwed up in concentration and they disappeared along with the frozen Lord Voldemort. The Kingdom of Dreams was once again devoid of life except for the unliving that chose to spend the rest of eternity there.  
  
Hermione, Ron, and Harry all awoke almost simultaneously in the infirmary to find Madame Pomfrey, Professor Dumbledore, and surprisingly Professor Snape standing around them.  
  
"Welcome back," Dumbledore greeted them cheerfully. "I hope you had a rather good trip?"  
  
All three of them were ashen faced, Harry being the worst. Madame Pomfrey forced them to eat a bit of chocolate and the color began to return to their skin.  
  
Professor Harpsturn moaned and turned in a cot nearby. She obviously had not woken up yet from her ordeal with the Shadow Beast.  
  
Lord Voldemort appeared next to Dumbledore, still obviously frozen, a few seconds later. The people standing around him moved quickly away.  
  
"Thank you, Harry, Ron, Hermione. We shall be putting Voldemort in his rightful place in Azkaban as soon as the Ministry comes to take him away. Now, I expect that all of you are extremely tired after you adventure and wish to rest. Madame Pomfrey has prepared a sleeping draught for you."  
  
Madame Pomfrey gave a bit to each and watched them fall asleep into a deep, dreamless sleep.  
  
{Author's Note: I think that there are either one or two chapters left before this shall be over. I know it turned out to be rather short, but this is the first fan fiction that I have ever gotten beyond the first page in writing. Enjoy! –Nataly Ravenlock} 


	14. Twisted Fate

{Disclaimer: I don't any of it, okie day? I only might own the things that were NOT created by the Great, Omnipotent J.K. Rowling, who owns the Harry Potter world.}{Posted February 2, 2002}  
  
Chapter 14  
  
Twisted Fate  
  
Snape awoke with a start. His dark eyes snapped open, noticing every detail and confirming that he was still in the infirmary, sitting by Emeline's bed. It was not yet dawn. He reached out and took her hand. It was cold and clammy, though he could still hear her breathing life. Her eyes slowly opened and she gave him a faint smile.  
  
"Severus," she breathed softly, not having much strength. "I'm not going to make it this time."  
  
"It's okay, Emeline, you always make it through things like this."  
  
"No, not this time. The beast's claws...were poisoned. They got me and there's nothing that can be done about it now." She weakly pushed away the robe from her shoulder, showing him the purple-green scratches obviously infected with something terrible. "They tried...to fix it with a spell...but it didn't work. There is no cure."  
  
"Go to back sleep, Em. It will help ease your pain."  
  
Severus Snape looked down upon the girl, no, woman, he corrected himself, that he had considered like a sister. She seemed so small, so vulnerable now; a mere fraction of her normal vitality was visible to the world. Why did she have to die? He remembered Emeline as strong both physically and mentally, but always willing to listen and just talk. She had been a brilliant student at Hogwarts, even though she was a Slytherin to the heart. She was ambitious, yet could control herself enough not to seem overly so. Emeline was just one of those naturally loving, caring people who could open themselves to the world when the world needed them.  
  
He stood up, realizing that there would be a much explaining to do if he was seen here. "Good-bye, Emeline. I will come back later." He snuck out of the infirmary and back to the Potions Dungeon. There had to be something to cure her. He started through his books, searching, finding nothing.  
  
Harry awoke to the low murmur of voices nearby. He recognized one as Professor Snape, but the other was too low to for him to understand. As he heard the last comment, he realized that Neville had been right and Snape could be civil.  
  
Ron and Hermione woke a few moments after Snape left. Madame Pomfrey bustled over to check on them and decided to release them to the Great Hall to eat breakfast.  
  
The hall was anything but subdued. Its normal level of noise had not dropped. In fact it was louder that usual, given that the Gryffindors and Slytherins were arguing about whether or not a rematch was deserved. The Slytherins, of course, wanted the rematch, saying that Harry had caught the Snitch after the game had stopped which gave him an unfair advantage or the Slytherin team. The Gryffindors countered this, stating that Malfoy could have stayed out on the field to search for the Snitch instead of going to run and hide in his ferret hole. This brought more protests from the Slytherins and the argument raged on across the hall.  
  
Ron, Harry, and Hermione took their seats at the Gryffindor table and were heartily congratulated on the defeat of Slytherin. Comments like "Jolly good show!" or "Impressive defeat!" rang through their ears through out breakfast. Near the end of the meal, Dumbledore stood up and called for silence.  
  
"I would like to happily announce that Lord Voldemort was taken this morning to Azkaban, where he will stay until he receives the Dementor's Kiss two days hence forth. Even though this enemy was defeated, we will still keep our guard up in case of attack by the remaining Death Eaters. Do not worry, for Hogwarts is one of the safest places that you can be. The rest of the day you will have off to celebrate this marvelous occurrence. Here are a few words of advice for all of you: Wear your socks."  
  
Dumbledore sat back down and the entire student body and teaching staff burst into extremely enthusiastic applause.  
  
"Wow," Ron decided, clapping loudly.  
  
"You did it, Harry," Hermione whispered quietly to them.  
  
"No," Harry corrected her. "We did it. We did it together."  
  
People started milling out of the hall, going off to do what ever they wanted to do. Professor Snape exited in his usual manner, but instead of going to down to the dungeons, he went back to the infirmary. Emeline was still there, weak and sickly looking. He sat down by her side and took her hand once again.  
  
"Emeline?"  
  
She squeezed his hand in welcome. "Hello, Severus. Thanks for coming back." Her voice still held a whisper of her strength.  
  
"Why did he have to do this to you, Em?"  
  
"I was in his way. He knew he would have to get through me first in order to kill Harry. He did." She closed her eyes and breathed as deeply as she could. Her eyes opened showing their full brilliant hazel and she smiled at him. "Good bye, Severus."  
  
She took her last breath and never breathed another.  
  
"Good-bye, Emeline." Snape did something that he had not done in years. A single tear dripped down his cheek.  
  
Madame Pomfrey came and saw him there, back turned, silently weeping for Emeline. Dumbledore came in few moments later and placed a fatherly hand on Snape's shoulder. He stood there in silence before speaking.  
  
"She lived a good life, Severus. For her death is just the next great adventure. I'll send owls out to her family and friends and we'll hold the funeral tomorrow, here at Hogwarts."  
  
In a small house in England, away from Hogwarts...  
  
Professor Remus Lupin was sitting at his kitchen table eating his evening meal with his friend and Azkaban escapee Sirius Black. A brown owl flew in through an open window and dropped a letter next to his plate. He looked closely at the letter.  
  
"It's from Hogwarts. Hmmm..." He opened it carefully and read the letter. It was dropped on the table in surprise of its contents. "No. No, it can't be. There has to be a mistake. This can't be true."  
  
"What is it, Remus?" Sirius had never seen his friend act this way before. Remus pushed the letter toward where Sirius was seated.  
  
Sirius picked it up and read it.  
  
Dear Remus,  
  
I am deeply sorry to inform you that your sister Emeline has been killed by Lord Voldemort. We are holding her funeral tomorrow morning here at Hogwarts.  
  
I apologize greatly for not being able to tell you this in person, Remus. I wanted to let you know that your sister died while trying to find a way to rescue Harry from the Dark Lord's clutches. I know that this letter brings you extremely sad tidings. I hope that you are able to come tomorrow.  
  
Albus Dumbledore  
  
Sirius moved around the table and placed his arm around Remus's shoulder.  
  
The next day was dark, dreary, and foggy. Emeline's coffin was placed at the head of the Great Hall. All around it stood bouquets of flowers in a multitude of colors: Roses, Daisies, Lilies, and everything else. They had dressed her in her formal robes of a shade of dark green with silver trim.  
  
People crowded around the Great Hall, talking about Emeline and their memories of her. It surprised Dumbledore to see most of the staff there, judging by their original reactions to Emeline teaching. He could see a group of men and women who obviously fellow Aurors. Another group turned out to be a group of people who had worked with her on the dragons. The only person from her immediate family to show up was Remus, her older brother. Sirius had followed him there, in the shape of his dog form. A few students showed up, including Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  
  
Dumbledore stood up on a podium in front of the Great Hall. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow witches and wizards, I would like to begin. I am Albus Dumbledore, Head Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Emeline Harpsturn Lupin was one of my students. She was hardworking and intelligent and just as ambitious as any other Slytherin. But unlike a good amount of the Slytherins, she chose to fight against Lord Voldemort. She began her career in the Ministry, working with dragons. Many of you know that she had a special attachment to these creatures and worked hard in trying to find a way in which mankind and dragons could live and work together with out either getting hurt. She then decided to become an Auror and fought against the Dark Lord. Her life ended in one of these fights, trying to save another student here that was caught in Voldemort's web. I would like to invite anyone forward to speak about or for Emeline."  
  
A man from the Dragon Experimental Team stepped forward. "I worked with Emeline doing the dragon research. She was just as Dumbledore described her: brilliant, brave, always willing to do her share, ambitious... I knew her when she had just graduated. She was still so much like a child, but had the mind of one older. She changed my life by showing me that things don't always have to be in a specific way and sometimes it is easier to make things up you go along. She was a great person."  
  
He handed the podium over to a woman Auror. "I worked with Emeline in the States when she became an Auror. I could not have asked for a better partner on the job. She had an almost selfless attitude toward other people, always ready to work and give her all. Sure I was a little apprehensive when I learned that she had been a Slytherin, but she was one of the best. I think I speak for all the Aurors here when I say that she will be sorely missed as one of the team."  
  
"Does anyone else wish to speak?" Dumbledore asked. Surprisingly, Professor McGonagall stepped forward.  
  
"Emeline Lupin was never one of my favorite people. She was a Slytherin and a trouble maker when she was here at Hogwarts. Despite these things, she wasn't afraid to speak out in class or give answers. She was a very bright student. I know some of us here had thought that we might lose her to the Dark Lord, but she prevailed through and became an Auror. I believe that she is one of the first Slytherins in this century to do so. She also showed us her bravery by coming back here and facing the professor that had hated her only a few years ago for letting a live fire breathing dragon into the school. She is one of the most obstinate, yet caring people that I have met."  
  
Professor Snape stepped forward as well. "Emeline and I were both in the Slytherin house, though five years apart. She became like the sister that I never had. We only knew each other for eight years until we began to separate. We met again just a few days ago, here at Hogwarts, where she had taken the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She was one of the strongest, bravest people that I have ever met. She was the only one in a family that had been only put in Gryffindor for generations to be placed in Slytherin. She was one of the few examples that showed how Slytherins are not all bad or evil. She taught me never to give up on life."  
  
Professor Lupin took over from Snape. "Emeline was my younger sister. Yes, when she was sorted into Slytherin, our family did disown her. They hated her for breaking the family tradition of being in Gryffindor. The rest of our family refused to be here today because of this. She was strong willed and ambitious, like the Slytherins are made out to be, but she was also one of the sweetest people you could ask for. I speak for most everyone here when I say Emeline, you will be greatly missed."  
  
There was not a dry eye in the hall after all the speeches were given. Dumbledore stood back up at the podium. "I would like to thank all of you for coming to this ceremony. Remus, Severus, would you do the honors?"  
  
Remus and Severus each took hold of the front handles of the coffin. Other people filled in behind them, helping to bring her to her final resting place near the Forbidden Forest. A hole had already been dug six feet down. The coffin was lowered as the crowd watched silently. Remus threw in the first handful of dirt. Snape was close behind in placing his in the hole. Others came up as well and helped to fill it in. A stone was placed at the head of the grave, reading `Here Lies Emeline Harpsturn Lupin, Protector of Dragons, Auror, and Friend to Those in Need.'  
  
The crowd slowly dispersed, leaving Snape alone by the tombstone. "Why, Emeline? Why did he have to choose you? You didn't deserve to die."  
  
"No one ever does, Severus."  
  
Snape looked around and saw her hovering next to him. "You came back."  
  
"I told you I would, didn't I? I keep my promises," her pale face grinned slowly at him. "You didn't think it would that easy to get rid of me, did you?"  
  
Snape grinned back. "No, I didn't." Together they walked back to the castle, the tall gaunt man with greasy hair and the short pale specter with a ready smile.  
  
The End  
  
{Author's Note: It's over. Done. Fini. Hay nada mas. That was definitely the most interesting thing that I have written yet. It is also the second "long" story that I actually finished. This happens to be much better that the other one, which I wrote about three years ago. I would like to thank those of you that actually read this, even though it's a scary thought that some one will read it. My next work will be titled Chaos: Tie-Dyed and Loving It. It has already started to be written and published. So far I just know that it will be about Harry's fifth year and an American exchange student comes to Hogwarts. It will hopefully be longer than and just as interesting as this one. I know that I don't like to go in order so that's why this one was written first. I might even consider doing Harry's seventh year when I'm finished with this one. Thanks again - Nataly Ravenlock} {Work Completed: 2/02/02 7:36 p.m.} 


End file.
